


Jurassic Dead

by Axelrocks



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Dinosaurs, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-06
Updated: 2016-07-17
Packaged: 2018-05-18 11:50:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 28
Words: 66,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5927301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Axelrocks/pseuds/Axelrocks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Working at a theme park didn't seem like an exciting way for Carol to spend the next seven months, but when that theme park is full of dinosaurs, being bored is the last thing on her mind and not getting eaten is the first. However, when she meets Daryl, things start to look up for the both of them. Until the worst happens...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've been writing for this story since the day after I saw the most recent Jurassic Park back in June. For some reason, Chris Pratt's character reminded me a little of Daryl and so, this story was born. This has been my baby for the past seven months and I hope you all are kind to it. And the reason why I didn't put this story into the crossover section is because the only similarity between this and Jurassic Park (the first one) is the name of the park and a few small details.
> 
> With school kicking my ass. I'll probably only update this about once a week.

**Chapter One**

"That Ed Peletier seems nice."

Cassandra Logan, a pretty middle-aged woman, said in a way she hoped sounded casual. A conversation starter. Idly, she flipped through the pages of her _Vogue_ magazine and didn't even look at her daughter as she spoke.

However, Carol could see right through her, of course. This wasn't the first time the subject of Ed had come up, and knowing her mother, Carol knew that it wouldn't be the last. Unfortunately.

"I'm pretty sure we know two different Ed Peletiers." Carol flipped a glossy page of some magazine she didn't know the name of. She was only sitting there, in the living room, to spend time with her mother. The magazines never really interested her. "The Ed _I_ know isn't nice. At all."

Carol had gone to high school with Ed and then, later to college. _Unfortunately_. She knew exactly how nice the cocky bastard was and wanted no part of it. Carol wondered how her mother would react if she were to tell her what had happened to Ed's last girlfriend.

The girl had come to class with a black eye and split lip. The next day, she was gone. Transferred to another school on the other side of the country. Carol didn't have to ask what had happened to her. Ed's bloody knuckles had told the truth.

"Well, he's handsome." Cassandra was not willing to give up.

"That's subjective," Carol replied, sounding bored. She flipped another page and skimmed over the shallow articles and photoshopped pictures. Not for the first time, she wished she had a real book in her hands. But this was time spent with her mother and her mother loved looking through all the different fashion magazines with her daughter and only child.

Cassandra had enough of her daughter's uncaring attitude. She threw her _Vogue_ magazine on the ground and sat up. "I want grandchildren!"

The outburst seemed to have no effect on her daughter as Carol placed her magazine down on the coffee table. Calmly. "And you'll get them. Someday. Just not with Ed Peletier or any other asshole like him."

"Watch your language, Carol Ann!"

"Mom, I'm _twenty-four_ years old, not ten. I think I'm allowed to talk however I want."

"It's not becoming of a lady," Cassandra sniffed and picked up the _Vogue_ magazine once more. Some of the pages had creases on them, but she carefully flattened them out and opened to the page she had been on before her little tantrum. Carol sighed loudly and leaned her head on the back of her chair, clearly done looking at the magazines.

 _I need to get away from here_ , she thought and closed her eyes. _At least for a little bit. Mom is driving me crazy!_

"Mom, I'm going to grab the paper," she said, breaking the tense silence in the living room. Cassandra looked up and nodded, still upset with her daughter. Carol walked past the couch and went to the front door, glad for the escape. Though it was a temporary one.

Carol didn't even know her mother continued to pay for the paper. She never read it. Unless it was the Sunday paper, and only then, did she look at all the ads. Carol, most of the time, received her news from going on her computer.

"We're just wasting trees," she muttered and picked up the paper. Carol took the paper and went to the kitchen with it, where she sat at one of the barstools pulled up to the counter. She opened it and was ready to read the goings on in the world when a glossy sheet of paper slipped out and landed on her lap.

Looking down, she nearly fell from her stool. On the paper, was a picture of a T-Rex. An honest to God T-Rex. It was an ad for the new attraction called _Jurassic Park_ , which had actual _live_ dinosaurs. The news had been abuzz with the place and several people had already booked their ticket for when the park opened in May, which was only four months away.

She picked up the ad and flipped it over, surprised that there was a backside. There was information covering almost the whole back. It talked about the park, what there was to do, the dinosaurs they had and how much a ticket was. Carol's eyes bugged out at the price. There was no way she would be going there anytime soon.

Then, her eyes stopped at something in the right hand corner. _Help Wanted_ : _Though we have many staff members under our_ _employ,_ _we are still in need of some tour guides and security. If interested, please visit this_ _website_ _and apply!_ _And no, you do not need to have knowledge of our prehistoric friends before applying. If hired, you will be trained accordingly._

Carol's answer to getting away was staring her right in the face.

Clutching the ad in her hand, she ran upstairs to her computer.

* * *

A blue plaid shirt went flying through the air, landing on a heap in the middle of a bed. With a huff, Daryl Dixon finally turned from his closet, satisfied that he had found every bit of decent clothing he owned. There would be no more sleeveless shirts and ripped jeans where he was going. Though, he still packed a few because if he didn't, he would be doing _a lot_ of laundry.

"Are you sure they ain't playin' you for a fool, little brother?" Merle hovered in the doorway to Daryl's room, a concerned look on his face. A look which rarely graced the oldest Dixon brother's features.

Daryl shrugged and began the annoying task of folding his clothes before placing them as neat as possible into his suitcase. "If they are, I'm still gettin' a vacation." Tomorrow, Daryl would be leaving on a plane that would take him to some island in the Atlantic.

"You really think they're goin' to actually give you eighty grand for working only seven months? It sounds a little too good to be true." Merle's constant doubt and nagging over the last month was grating on Daryl's last nerve, but Daryl forced himself to take a deep breath and stay calm. After tomorrow, he wouldn't be seeing his older brother for seven months.

"I'm doin' this for you, asshole," he growled. "Or have you forgotten about all the money you owe Gareth? I may be makin' eighty grand, but _I_ won't be getting eighty grand. Hell, I won't even be gettin' half of it!" Merle had the sense to look guilty.

"Instead of harpin' on me twenty-four seven, you should be glad you ain't goin' to be the next body found in a ditch!"

Merle remained silent. Daryl wasn't finished.

"And since your ass has a record, you couldn't apply for this job. So, I did. Looks I'm the one gettin' you out of trouble. _Again._ " Daryl finished folding up the last shirt and zipped up his suitcase. He turned to Merle. "You know, I'm actually lookin' forward to these seven months away."

He loved Merle. There was no doubt about it. But at twenty-four, Daryl hadn't done much in his life. He was always following his older brother around and getting him out of trouble. Now, with this job, Daryl was given the opportunity to be on his own and to be far away from Merle's influence.

"But _dinosaurs_ , Daryl? Some of those motherfuckers can _eat_ you and you're willin'' to work with them? Fuck. What if they escape?"

Daryl knew that was a valid worry, he worried the same thing, but this was also the twentieth time his brother brought it up in the past thirty days and it was just getting old. "I'm sure they wouldn't open up a park to the public if there were any chance they could escape. Plus, I ain't goin' to be workin' directly with them. I'm just a security guard. I probably just have to stand by some important people and make sure none of the guests bring in any weapons."

"Eighty grand to be a damn security guard? That doesn't sound weird to you?"

"No. It's eighty grand to be on a security guard on an island with _dinosaurs._ How many people would apply to that job if they were only gettin' minimum wage?" Daryl set his suitcase on the floor by his bed before taking a seat on the mattress. It was getting late.

"Listen, I'm goin' to send you all the money I can while I'm there. I probably won't need any, since they feed and house us. So, it should be about five or six months before you get enough to pay Gareth back. Once that debt it paid, I ain't sendin' anymore." He looked up at his brother, face serious. "I ain't askin' you to get completely clean, even though you need to, but I'm not doin' this, anymore. Once this debt is squared away, I'm done gettin' your ass out of a hole every time you fall in one."

"I'll try, Daryl. I really will." It was the least he could do. Merle was the oldest brother, but it was Daryl who kept an eye out for him.

"Okay, Merle." There was sharp pain in Merle's gut when he saw the look on Daryl's face after he spoke.

Daryl didn't believe him. He had lost faith in his older brother a long time ago.

* * *

"I can't believe you're actually doing this, Carol!" Cassandra exclaimed for the fifth time that morning. The first time had been earlier when she walked into Carol's room just as Carol had turned on her side to get more comfortable in her bed.

She hadn't gotten much sleep after that.

"Believe it, mom," Carol sighed. It was too early to be doing this. She hadn't even had a cup of coffee, yet.

"So, you're just going to up and leave and not tell anyone else you're going?" By anyone, Cassandra meant Ed, who she still wanted Carol to date despite Carol's protests.

"Pretty much." Carol shuffled to the coffee maker and poured herself a cup. Her mother hadn't even left enough for a full mug. She scowled.

"Fine. What about me? You may be fine with leaving behind your friends for seven months, but what about your mother? You're going to leave me here while you're on some island."

"Do what you always do, mom." Carol took her coffee and set it beside the stove. A skillet was already on the burner and she cracked two eggs inside. A full breakfast before going on a plane for the first time in her life probably wasn't a good idea, but she was starving.

"At least tell me you'll make an effort to meet someone while you're gone."

Carol's shoulders slumped and she sighed deep and long. "I don't know, mom. This _is_ my job and I don't know if I'll have much time to socialize." It was a lie. There was no way they would keep her working all the time, but she wasn't going there to find herself a husband.

"Can you try? For me?"

Carol didn't want to turn around to see the look her mom was giving her back. With a defeated groan, she said, "Fine." She also agreed to get her mother off her back. Now, Carol could practically feel the smugness radiating off her.

A few minutes later, Carol slid her eggs onto a plate and went to grab the piece of toast that had popped up in the toaster. She was about to turn around and sit at the table when Cassandra's voice stopped her. "I'm going to miss you, honey." It had been awhile since Carol's mother had used that tone of voice. Carol looked over her shoulder to give her a small smile.

"I'll miss you, too, mom."

She would miss her, but Carol still couldn't _wait_ to get on that plane.

* * *

"Uh, excuse me? I think that's my seat." A soft, gruff voice broke Carol from her reverie. Looking up, she was surprised that the face didn't match the voice. A rugged, handsome man with tousled brown hair was staring at her as he gnawed on the skin of his thumb. Instantly, she wondered if it was a nervous tick of his.

"Um. The one I'm sitting in?" She had double-checked her seat number and the stewardess had been the one to seat her. But there still could be a mistake, of course.

"No. It's the one next to you. I didn't want to try to walk by and not let you know first."

"That was nice of you." She pulled her knees to her chest and the man blushed as he walked by to get himself settled into his seat, which was the window seat. Carol was totally jealous.

"Thanks." He settled himself and things got a little awkward. There were a few other passengers already on the plane and the quiet murmur of voices could be heard. Carol wondered if any of them were working at the theme park, too.

"So. Are you going to work for Jurassic Park?" She turned to the man and asked, figuring that she should be the one to start a conversation. Especially if they were going to be seating by one another for a few hours.

"Actually, yeah. Security. You?"

The man had beautiful blue eyes.

"Oh, um," she had to look somewhere else. "Yeah. I'm going to be a tour guide. Probably should practice my smile, huh?"

"And I should practice my scowl. I have to look intimidatin'."

She giggled. "We're going to be on an island with creatures that can eat us. Looking scarier than them is going to be real challenge."

_Oh. God._

She was going to be on an _island_ with animals that could _eat_ her.

"It all just hit you, huh?"

She ran a hand through her curly hair, not caring if she messed it up. "God, yes. Do you think it's too late to quit?" She was only being half-serious.

"I'm sure if you walk off this plane that would be considered quittin'." He leaned slightly closer. "But you look like someone who wouldn't do that, though. You don't look like the type that quits easily."

"I'm not." She held up her chin. "I signed up for this and I'm sticking to it." There was also the thought that if she did quit, she would have to go right back to her mother who would push Carol to get a husband.

"The money ain't bad, either." He leaned back in his seat.

She laughed. "You're right about that." The money was _really_ good and Carol had decided that once she returned to Georgia in October, she would get her own place. Away from her mother.

"I'm Daryl, by the way." He held out a hand.

Carol shook it, feeling the calluses on his palm. "I'm Carol."

Daryl settled back into his chair and turned his head in her direction, a small smile on his face. "So, dinosaurs, huh?"

Smiling, she huffed a little laugh. "Yeah. Dinosaurs."

* * *

***cue Jurassic Park theme music***


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for giving this a chance! It really means a lot to me! :) And I know it hasn't been a full week since I last updated, but I really wanted to get this out to you before my weekend got crazy!
> 
> Enjoy!

**Chapter Two**

Daryl's knee jiggled and he gnawed on the ragged skin of his thumb while his eyes were glued to the window to his right. The plane started to move, with a jolt, down the runaway. Soon, they would be hundreds of miles in the sky and Daryl wasn't sure how he felt about that, yet. This was the first time he had ever stepped foot on a plane. Hell, it was the first time he would ever be out of Georgia. At least, he wasn't the only one nervous. Carol was clutching the armrests of her seat so tight her knuckles were white and her eyes were screwed shut. Unfortunately, Daryl couldn't think of anything he could do that would ease her obvious terror. He was just as terrified.

Halfway down the runway, Carol peeked at him out of one of her blue eyes. "Are we there, yet?" The iron grip on the armrests hadn't loosened.

"No." Daryl couldn't help but chuckle, easing his own tension a bit. "We aren't even in the air, yet."

"Dammit," she hissed and slammed both eyes shut, again. "I was hoping I passed out and slept through the whole trip."

No. Sorry." He offered her a smile, but with both eyes closed she couldn't see it.

"Maybe I should have got off when I had the chance. I shouldn't have let you talk me out of it, Daryl." Daryl couldn't tell, by looking at her face, if she was being serious or not. But when the corners of her mouth curved up, he knew she hadn't been.

"Uh, just don't think about bein' on a plane," he said, not really knowing what to say but wanting to help ease her mind. "Just think about what we're goin' to be doin' soon. We're goin' to be workin' with man-eating dinosaurs. _They're_ goin' to be much scarier than this." He winced after realizing what he was saying. "Fuck. Forget I said all that. I just freaked myself out. Again."

Carol breathed out a nervous laugh. "Well, it helped get my mind off _this._ " She opened her eyes. "However, now I'm thinking about how I might get eaten, so that might be a little worse."

"Sorry," he sheepishly mumbled.

"It's okay. Really. You were trying to help."

"Still, I could have said anythin' but that," he said, shyly and picked at his armrest while not looking her way.

"Well, let's talk about something else, then. Um." She tapped her chin. "A-ha! So, where in Georgia are you from? I lived in a small town named Senoia. It's about an hour from Atlanta."

Daryl's eyes widened slightly. "I live about ten minutes from there."

"Really?" Carol leaned forward in her chair as much as the seatbelt would allow her. "Do you think we may have gone to the same school?"

"Possibly. But, I, uh, dropped out when I was a junior." His head drooped.

"Well, I, unfortunately stayed until I graduated," Carol sighed. "And then, I went to college for another four years."

Daryl peeked at her from the corner of his eye, studying her. "Yeah? And what did you go for?"

"Elementary education."

A laugh barked out of Daryl before he could stop it.

"What?" Carol demanded, only half-serious. Could he not see her as an elementary teacher? She didn't know if she should find that insulting or not.

"Sorry," he said. "But you sounded like you hated goin' to school, earlier and it turns out, you want to work in one for the rest of your life." He laughed, again.

"Well, I have to let other students go through the hell I went through." She winked. It wasn't true, though. Carol loved kids and couldn't want to have a classroom to call her own. But first, she wanted to be on her own for a little bit. That was one of the many reasons why she had taken the job at Jurassic Park.

"You evil woman," Daryl chuckled and shook his head slightly. Then, his gaze was distracted when he looked out the window. "Hey, we're in the air. I guess my plan really did work, huh?"

"It did." Carol hadn't even known they had taken off, yet, and now, not a trace of the fear and anxiety from earlier was left. "You're a miracle worker, Daryl."

He blushed at the praise, which she found incredibly enduring. "I try."

Carol glanced behind her and saw that the plane wasn't that full. "Do you think we're all going to the same place or will there be stops along the way? I don't think I can handle more take-offs and I haven't even experienced a landing, yet. I heard they aren't much better."

"I don't know. Maybe. Ain't many people on here."

"Hm. I wonder why they would sit us by each other if there were so many empty seats. Not that I mind, of course." Carol was quick to add. She was glad that she was sitting by Daryl. It gave her someone to talk to and he was surprisingly easy to strike up a conversation with.

Daryl shrugged. "Don't know. I don't mind, either. I got good company." He gave her another shy smile and it made her heart beat faster. If he didn't stop, the promise she gave her mother about finding someone while she was gone would come true before they even landed.

* * *

"But a tour guide? I didn't even apply for that job!" Glenn Rhee complained to his girlfriend, Maggie Greene, who had been sitting next to him on the plane. They sat close to the back and with hardly any one else around them, no one was bothered by Glenn's whiny voice.

"Maybe they thought you'd make a better tour guide than security guard. I mean, you did put 'personable' on your application. What security officer have you met that's been personable?"

"Uh..." Glenn paused for a moment.

"Exactly," she poked him in the side. "And look at it this way, now you can work with me!" Glenn knew better than to say anything else after that. Maggie could be mean if she wanted to be and could hold grudges forever.

The plane was filled with quiet murmurs of the few passengers'. Some sat by themselves, like an African-American woman with dreadlocks and a dark-haired man, who kept looking at a couple across the aisle from where he sat. From where Glenn was sitting, he could see that the couple's heads were bent low, but the hand gestures the woman was doing made it look as if they were arguing.

A brother and sister sat near the front. Glenn knew they were brother and sister because he had met them before boarding the plane. Their names were Tyreese and Sasha and Glenn had known right away what job the man had gotten. Tyreese was a large man, a former football player and Sasha had been a firefighter, but was now taking a little break from the stressful line of work. Glenn didn't know if working with _dinosaurs_ would be any less stressful.

A blonde woman sat directly in front of them and seemed to be on her own, as well. Ear buds were in her ears and she looked to be napping. A few seats down from her another large African-American man was dozing off.

"That couple seems interesting." Maggie pointed as subtly as possible to a couple sitting on the right of them.

Glenn had watched them walk on the plane. The woman had come first, smiling at him as she passed and took her seat. She looked excited. However, the man had looked the opposite. He had boarded the plane with slumped shoulders and a scowl. He didn't look at anyone as he walked down the aisle. Glenn had sat back and waited for the gruff man to take his seat and for the woman to try to strike up a conversation only to be rudely shot down.

That hadn't happened. In fact, it seemed like they had been talking nonstop since the plane had taken off. _Interesting, indeed._

"Do you think they know each other?" Maggie whispered, though Glenn doubted they could be heard from where they sat.

"No, they came in separately."

"Twenty bucks says they'll get together while we're on the island."

"No fair," he whispered harshly back. "I think they'll get together, too."

"Fine. I give it a month."

Glenn studied the couple and saw the scary man smile at the woman. "I give it _a week._ "

* * *

"So. What dinosaur are you looking forward to seeing?" Carol asked. Her body turned in the seat, giving Daryl all of her attention. It had been almost two hours since they had taken off and they hadn't stopped talking, which Carol hadn't minded in the slightest.

"Uh, which ones don't eat people, again?"

Carol laughed. " _A lot_ of them don't eat people, Daryl."

"Uh, right. I think I want to see the um...bronchi-bronca...fuck it, the long-necked ones."

"Brachiosaurus." At Daryl's odd look, Carol continued, "Going to be a teacher, remember? All the stuff I'm going to be seeing is going to make me the best teacher in the world."

"Damn right. You better take lots of pictures. So, which one do you want to see?"

"The T-Rex," she answered quickly.

"You serious?"

She shrugged. "Sure. It's easily the coolest dinosaur there and I've only seen pictures. I want to see what it looks like up close."

"But it can _eat_ you."

"I know, but it's going to be behind high powered fences with a hundred foot drop off before it can even reach that fence. I think we'll be fine. But I, at least, know which dinosaur you don't want to see." She nudged him with an elbow.

"Naw, it ain't a T-Rex. It's them velociraptors. Those fuckers are smart and if any dinosaur can figure out how to escape, it'll be them."

Carol shivered. She had read the information booklet the park had sent her and she knew exactly how smart velociraptors could be. "I don't want to see them, either. Watch, one of us is going to be placed in their area."

"Fuck, Carol. You'll jinx us!"

* * *

A few hours later, they landed on the island. Carol had clutched Daryl's hand as the plane descended onto the runway. Though, he loathed touch of any kind, he didn't mind this. Even if it felt like Carol had broken all of his fingers. He had enjoyed talking with Carol on the plane and she had seemed to enjoy talking with him, as well. Maybe this job wouldn't be as bad, now that he had someone he knew and liked.

Once they all disembarked the plane, they were told their luggage would be delivered to where they would all be staying for the duration of their time there, but now, they were to head straight to the main building of the park and meet the man in charge.

They were escorted to where three brightly colored jeeps with the parks logo waited for them. Daryl climbed into a jeep with Carol and one of the couples. Carol had entered the backseat first, while the woman had taken the front next to the driver, the young Asian man had been about to enter after Carol when he spotted Daryl coming his way and moved so he could take the spot next to Carol.

"Sorry, man. Didn't see you coming," the young man apologized.

"S'alright," Daryl said back, though he didn't know why he was being apologized to.

Carol bumped her shoulder with his and gave him a bright smile. "You ready?"

"As I'm ever goin' to be. You?"

"Oh, yeah." Daryl smiled at her reply and looked out her window when she had turned to do the same. He may have talked to her more, if the man next to him wasn't giving him a goofy grin every time they made eye contact.

Ten minutes later, after glancing at some boring scenery, not a dinosaur in sight, they drove up to a tall stone building. Steps led up to two massive doors that made Daryl wonder how they were going to open. Everyone climbed out of the seats and made their way up the steps. The doors opened automatically and they stepped through. A large banner hanging from the ceiling greeted them, but it was the skeleton of a T-Rex in the middle of the massive room that caught everyone's attention. Were they really _that_ big? Fuck.

"I see all of you have made it, safely." A smooth, deep voice had them all averting their attentions to a tall, well-dressed man who was walking towards them. He looked very well put together and confident. Clearly, he was the man in charge.

"My name is Phillip Blake," he said, smiling and held his arms wide. "And welcome to Jurassic Park."


	3. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

Immediately, Daryl found that he didn't like Phillip Blake.

There was something in the way he walked and the way he looked at all of them that made his skin crawl and set his teeth on edge. He glanced at Carol to see what her reaction to the man was, but couldn't read her expression. At least, she didn't look to be in awe or enamored by the man, like the blonde haired woman seemed to be.

"I'm sure you all are dying to see our attractions, but you all need to have the chance to rest before then. So, tonight, I will take you on a little tour of this building, we'll have a meal together and then, you will find out who you are bunking with for the duration of your time here.

"Tomorrow, you will go on a tour of the park and afterwards, at dinner, you will all find out where and who you will be working with. The fun stuff beings after that." The smile Phillip gave them sent a shiver down Daryl's spine and this time when he looked at Carol, he could tell she was having the same feelings.

Good, he wasn't the only one who was being observant.

Three men walked out through a sliding white door from the right of them and joined Blake. "These are our three geneticist that helped Jurassic Park become what it is today." He pointed to a man with light brown hair and glasses, who gave them all a shy wave. "That's Milton Mamet." He pointed to the man next to him who had a mullet. "That's Eugene Porter and this," he placed a hand on the older man next to him. "This is Edwin Jenner, our head geneticist . He will be the one to lead you through the tour."

"Before we begin, are there any questions?" Edwin Jenner stood tall in his white lab coat and looked over the group with a bored expression on his face.

A dark haired man raised his hand. "If we're here for security, will we be required to carry a weapon?"

Something flickered in Phillip's face. "No. You will have no need for a weapon while on duty, Mr. Walsh. We will discuss, at a later date, what you will be required to carry around with you."

Mr. Walsh didn't like the answer and his eyes flashed in irritation. Daryl didn't fault the man. He wished he had been allowed to bring his crossbow. He didn't know how much good the weapon would be against a dinosaur, but its weight on his back would have been a comfort.

"If there isn't anymore questions, please follow me." Jenner turned his back on the group and began to walk toward a door at the back of the room. Eugene and Milton followed him, silently, while Blake waited for the group to catch up and joined them. Immediately, the blonde woman went up to his side and started a conversation with him. Daryl rolled his eyes.

"Hm, how long do you think it will take for them to hook up?" Carol whispered to him.

Daryl shrugged and snorted. "Don't know."

"She's pretty and he's handsome...I guess. I don't think it'll take long."

"You _guess_ he's handsome?" Daryl whispered back. Of course, Daryl didn't know if the guy would be considered good-looking. Blake had perfectly styled hair, a nice smile and his clothes seemed to fit him nicely. Did that make him handsome?

Carol's nose scrunched up. "He's just not my type. Reminds me of Ed."

Daryl was about to ask who Ed was and what her type was when Edwin stopped (Okay, maybe he wasn't going to ask the last part).. Daryl hadn't even noticed that they had walked into a hallway with large glass windows that looked down at bright white rooms with several men and women in white lab coats scurrying around several weird looking machines.

"This is where we hatch some of the dinosaurs you will be seeing tomorrow," Edwin said in a monotone voice.

"Hatch?" The Asian man spoke up. "Like from eggs?"

"Dinosaurs are cold-blooded animals, just like lizards, so that means they come from eggs," Milton spoke up. The way he explained it didn't make him sound condescending and Daryl thought he would like him.

"All of our dinosaurs are female in the park, which means they do not mate and can not reproduce." The guy with a mullet, Eugene, spoke next.

Everyone nodded, like they understood, but Daryl saw more than a handful of confused faces and he knew he was one of them. Really, he didn't care for the science-y stuff concerning the creatures they would be seeing. All he had to do was be security and make sure he didn't get eaten.

"Would you like to see some of the eggs hatch?" Phillip detached from the blonde woman's side and announced to the group. "I'm sure a few of them are ready to break from their shells. Right, Dr. Mamet?"

The bespectacled man gave his boss a sharp nod. "Yes. If you will follow Dr. Porter and I, we will hopefully get to show you some newborns...if you all wish to see them, that is."

Everyone looked at one another, eyes wide and without a word of affirmation, they followed Milton and Eugene into the room.

* * *

"What kind of dinosaur is it?" A man, who looked like he used to play football, asked Dr. Mamet. Six of them gathered around one incubator while the other six gathered around another. Daryl and Carol were in a group with the former football player, his sister, a dark haired man with blue eyes and his wife.

Daryl had yet to get any of their names.

"A velociraptor," Milton answered as if was the most natural thing to say. As if hatching velociraptors was a normal every day thing...which, thinking about it, it probably was.

Daryl froze and looked at Carol beside him. She stared back, eyes just as wide. "Are all of them velociraptors?" He asked. There had to be at least ten eggs in the incubator with two similar ones around them.

"They are," Milton said, as if it was nothing.

 _Oh hell, no,_ he wanted to say. _I ain't stayin' on an island with_ _dozens_ _velociraptors runnin' around. They're just askin' for trouble._

"Why are there so many?" Carol piped up and Daryl gave her his full attention. "Surely, having one or two would be enough for the tourists."

"Mr. Blake wanted us to make more velociraptors and since he's funding everything here, we listen to him."

Daryl and Carol exchanged another look before moving on with the rest of their group. They stayed to the back of the group. Daryl leaned down slightly and whispered, "Is it just me or do you think this Phillip Blake is crazy?"

Carol looked around, to make sure they weren't being overheard. "It isn't just you, Daryl."

After watching some eggs hatch, the group was lead to what looked like a theatre. They all seemed excited, thinking that maybe they would see some footage of the park, but all they were shown was a cartoonish video about how the dinosaurs had come to be.

Daryl had feigned sleep while he sat in his chair in the last row and Carol elbowed him with a quiet giggle. "If I have to watch this, so do you!"

"But it's borin'."

"I know," she sighed and slumped low in her chair. Daryl mimicked her and this time, he really felt like he would fall asleep.

"I just want to eat and get my room, so I can sleep," he mumbled, making sure to keep his voice low. The rest of the members of their group looked just as thrilled to watch the movie as he and Carol, but he didn't want them to hear him talking.

"Who do you think you'll bunk with?" Carol whispered.

Daryl shrugged. "Don't know. I'll probably be with some of the guys. I doubt they'd mix up the men and women, unless you're married or datin'."

"I hope I like whoever I'm with." Her eyes scanned the heads of the rest of their group.

"If not, you can always come sleep on my floor," he said and nudged her in the side. Not even twenty-fours hours had passed since he met Carol and yet, he felt comfortable enough to tease her.

"Sounds _so_ appealing." She rolled her eyes and nudged him back.

"And if you're nice, I'll even spare you a pillow."

"Stop." She giggled into her hand to muffle the sound. However, one of the woman, the long, dark-haired one, turned her head to look at the two. In the dark, Carol couldn't read her face very well, but she quickly clamped her mouth shut and sat up straighter in the chair. Daryl did the same and grumbled about it.

"Well, I hope you ain't bunkin' with her."

* * *

Carol didn't know what to think about the man she had befriended so quickly on the plane. The way they joked and teased one another throughout the small tour and movie made it seem like they had known each other forever. She didn't mind, though. She was glad that she would have someone to hang out with during the long months they would be on Jurassic Park.

After the movie, the group of twelve was lead to a dining room with several tables and chairs scattered around. A long table with sixteen chairs was placed in the middle and on the table, sixteen places were set. Phillip Blake took a seat at the head of the table with Dr. Jenner, Dr. Mamet and Dr. Porter flanking him.

"Please sit," he said and motioned to the other seats. Carol followed Daryl to the other side of the table, far from Blake she noticed, and took a seat next to him.

Water glasses were already set in front of them and Carol reached for hers to take a sip. Her throat felt dry. Daryl leaned close and whispered in her ear, "So, what do you think we'll be eatin' tonight? Triceratops?"

Carol spat her water all over the table. Everyone turned to her with wide eyes and Carol felt her face grow red as she cleaned up her mess, quickly. From the corner of her eye, she watched the man that had been in their jeep, nudge the woman beside him with a smile. Carol ducked her head, thinking they were laughing at her.

"Sorry," Daryl whispered, looking regretful.

"Don't be," she whispered back. "That was hilarious."

"Carol, honey, are you all right?" Blake's voice startled them all. Carol didn't even know he knew her name, yet.

"U-Uh, yeah. It just went down the wrong pipe." She ducked and tried to hide behind Daryl. "Sorry."

"It's quite all right." Blake smiled, a smile that seemed very off to Carol. She quickly looked away and focused on moping up some more of the water with a napkin. Another hand appeared in her vision, helping her clean. She turned to see Daryl. He gave her a smile and she returned it with a grateful one of her own.

"Do we have another couple at this table?" This time Blake's voice sounded amused. "I could have sworn there were only two." Carol wasn't sure if the man was talking about her and Daryl.

"U-Uh no, we ain't a couple," Daryl answered, the tips of his ears were turning red.

"We just met!" Carol added.

"Uh-huh, I see." Phillip sat back in his chair, a ghost of a smile on his mouth. "Well, it's nice to see you two seem to be getting along nicely, then. I hope you all get along nicely while you are here. Teamwork is key in order for Jurassic Park to thrive."

Edwin, Milton and Eugene all nodded their heads in agreement. The rest of the group looked at one another, but didn't say anything. They were all virtual strangers, except for the two couples and the brother and sister duo. The odds of them all liking each other weren't very high, but if they were to work with together, then they would have to be at least civil.

"If you're the only person I like here, I'll survive," Daryl leaned close and said. Before Carol could reply, the doors to the kitchen were thrown open and carts of covered platters came out. Each platter was placed in front of them and was uncovered with flourishes that went mostly went unnoticed. They were all starving.

"Hmm, looks like chicken," Daryl said, still in a whisper and picked up a fork to poke at it.

Carol took a bite when she saw that everyone else was digging in, as well. "It tastes like chicken," she whispered back. " _Unless_ Triceratops looks and tastes like chicken!" She mocked gasped and this time, it was Daryl who snorted out a laugh.

No one looked at them, which was a relief. They were all engrossed in their own quiet conversations.

The blonde woman was talking across poor Milton, who hadn't been able to keep his eyes off the beautiful woman since she had taken a seat next to him, to speak with Phillip Blake.

"Oh, that reminds me!" Phillip exclaimed, cutting off whatever the blonde woman had said by standing up. "You all have not been introduced to one another. Well, besides Daryl and Carol, of course." He winked. Carol flushed hotly under his gaze and Daryl didn't even look in his direction.

"I would like to go around the table and when it is your turn to introduce yourself, I would like you to stand, say your name and the position you will be working." The Asian man groaned and closed his eyes. The woman beside him nudged him and smiled.

Blake motioned to the blonde woman beside Milton. She stood up and smiled at the rest of the group. "I'm Andrea Harrison and I'll be a guide for the park. I'm also a lawyer and will take care of any legal actions that are needed here." She turned to Blake, beamed at him once more before taking a seat.

The African American woman with the dreadlocks stood up next. "I'm Michonne and I'm park security." She went straight to the point and sat down.

A dark haired man with bright blue eyes stood up next and cleared his throat. "I'm Rick Grimes. I'm security, as well." He nodded at Michonne. "And this, is my wife, Lori. She's going to be a tour guide." The skinny woman with long brown hair stood up and waved at the group. Together, they took their seats.

Next was the couple across from Carol and Daryl. The Asian man stood up, looking somewhat sheepish. "Hi, I'm Glenn Rhee and I will be a tour guide." He held up a finger. "Only because I'm very personable and this is my girlfriend-"

"Maggie Greene," Glenn's girlfriend stood up, not allowing her boyfriend to speak for her. "I'm a tour guide, too."

A large African American man with a beanie stood up next, he was sitting at the end of the table opposite of Phillip Blake. "I'm Tyreese Williams and I'm security." There was no surprise there.

Next, the African American woman next to Carol stood. "I'm Sasha Williams, Tyreese is my older brother," she rolled her eyes. "Even though I act like the older sibling most of the time." A few chuckles were scattered around the table. "And I'm a tour guide."

Next it was Carol's turn. She stood on shaky legs and looked around the crowded table, still slightly embarrassed from when she had spat water everywhere. "Hi," she waved. "I'm Carol Spencer and I'm a tour guide." Quickly, she sat down.

Daryl stood, looking just as nervous. "Daryl Dixon. Security," he said, curtly and sat down even quicker than Michonne had.

The dark haired man who had asked Blake the question about weapons was the next to stand. When his gaze went around the room, it was like he was studying each person there. His eyes lingered a little on Rick, but lingered even more on Lori. Carol wondered if he knew them. "My name is Shane Walsh. I used to work as a policemen in King County, along with Rick, and now, I'm security here." He took his seat.

The next person to stand up was another large African American man. On his face, he wore a huge smile. "Hello, everyone. My name is Theodore Douglas, you can call me T-Dog if you want, and I'm security, as well."

That was it. All twelve workers had been introduced.

Phillip Blake didn't stand up, but his voice commanded enough authority for everyone to look at him. "I'm sorry to delay your meal longer, but I'm sure once you are finished you would all like to go to your rooms." Murmurs of agreement answered him.

"Our rooms are quite large, but you all will be sharing with others. I want us to become like a family here. The two couples will share a two room apartment. Don't worry, rooms are on either side of the apartment," he winked. "The other apartments have four rooms with a large living room in the middle that is equipped with a TV, couch, and chairs. Each of you will have your own computer in your room, as well. There is also a kitchen, but you will eat most meals here.

"The four men left will be sharing a room. That is Shane, Tyreese, Theodore and Daryl. The four ladies will be sharing a room, as well. At the end of the hall, we have a nicely equipped rec room where everyone can go and hang out if you would like. We also have a library of sorts, for those that like to read," his gaze landed on Carol for a moment. "Unfortunately, it isn't very big and the selection of books is very limited.

"I hope you will find the accommodations to your liking." He picked up his fork, ready to start eating. "Oh, one more thing Tomorrow, I will take you on the tour of the place. Our first stop will be at my favorite attraction." They all gave him questioning looks. "You will have to wait and see what it is tomorrow. _Now_ , you may all eat."

Everyone dug in, eager to fill their bellies and get to their rooms to rest.

"When you're done here, do you, uh, want to meet up in the rec room?" Daryl asked, shyly. "Maybe we could talk a little or play some cards. I don't know." He shrugged.

"Sure, sounds fun." She gave him a wide smile before going back to her food. Carol knew that Blake had separated them up by gender, but Carol wouldn't have minded if she were to room with Daryl.

* * *

An hour later, Daryl walked into the room he would be calling his over the course of several months. It was a spacious room with a large bed, a dresser, closet and a wooden desk with a laptop placed under the window. It was nicer than the room he had at home.

His suitcase sat by his bed, but a huge box on the bed caught his attention immediately. Walking over, he lifted the lid and dropped it in shock. Inside the box was a crossbow, _his_ crossbow. A folded piece of paper sat on top. Daryl picked it up and read:

_I hope you don't mind, but I had your brother ship this here. Of course, you will not use while at work, but we do have places you could practice shooting it._

_~Phillip Blake_

Daryl put down the note and picked up his bow. The weight of the weapon was a welcomed feeling and he held it up so he could look through the sight. As glad as he was to have his crossbow with him, he couldn't help but wonder _why_ Blake had wanted him to have it.

This was something he would discuss with Carol when he made it to the rec room.

Just the thought of Carol, Daryl felt his cheeks heat up. That morning, he had never met her, but now, he felt like he had known her forever. The seven months living on a island with dinosaurs seemed _much_ better now that he had Carol to talk with.

* * *

**I've watched Jurassic Park a million times but I still don't know all of the science behind it, so forgive me for skimming over all of that.**

**Thanks for reading! :)**


	4. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

"He had your _crossbow_ sent to you?" Carol, sitting in one of the cushioned arm chairs in the rec room, looked at Daryl with wide, shocked eyes. "I thought he was against having weapons. Or at least that was the impression I got when he answered Shane when we got here."

Daryl shrugged. "I don't know. He even left me a note saying I could practice shooting it whenever I had any free time." Truthfully, Daryl was very weary of doing just that. There had to be a reason why Blake wanted him to have his bow and all the things Daryl was coming up with didn't sound too great.

"Do you think any one else got something similar? Maybe they got one of their favorite things from home or something?" Carol asked.

"Did _you_ get anythin'?"

She shook her head, but then leaned forward. "But I did find this in my room." From her hip, she produced a sheath. A _knife_ sheath. Carol pulled the knife out and Daryl was surprised to see the handle looked like brass knuckles and the point of it looked _very_ sharp.

"Is that yours from home?"

"No." She put the knife back and hid it back on her hip, covering it with her shirt so no one else could see it. "I don't even know _how_ to handle a knife like that."

"This is _really_ weird."

"You don't think," Carol said, fearfully, still leaning close. "He's giving us these weapons because the dinosaurs wil-"

"Don't say it," he groaned and covered his face with his hands. "Fuck. Merle was right. This _was_ too good to be true."

"Wait." She reached out and grabbed his wrist. "We could be jumping to conclusions here because this is our biggest fear."

"Gettin' eaten by a dinosaur was never my biggest fear...until I came here," he grumbled.

"Same here," she sighed and slumped into the couch. "Let's not think too much into this, right now. It's only the first day, after all. If any more weird things happen, we'll tell each other as soon as possible." She held up a pinky. "Promise?"

Daryl stared at the digit for a moment, slightly confused, before wrapping his around it. "Promise." His heart began to beat faster, especially after Carol flashed him a bright smile after they had made their pinky promise. What was happening to him? Was he really falling for someone he had _just_ met?

"Daryl!" Carol startled him from his daydream and he flushed deeply, knowing that he had been daydreaming about _her_. "Quit stalling." In her hands she held a stack of cards. Where she had gotten them, he didn't know.

"You said we could play some cards. Now, let's get to it. I'm ready to kick your ass, already." She smirked as she stood to her feet and with a flounce to her step walked over to one of the fold out tables.

Daryl followed. "Kick my ass, huh? In what, Go Fish?"

"Haha, very funny." Carol took a seat and he took the one across the table from her. "I was thinking Poker."

"Sounds good." He tried to hide the surprise from his voice. Carol knew how to play poker? She just kept getting more perfect by the minute.

"So, what will it be? Regular poker or," she leaned forward on her elbows, her auburn hair framed her face and there was a twinkle of something in her eyes. "Strip poker?"

This woman was going to kill him.

* * *

"So, what do I get if I win?" Glenn asked, slyly as they sat close together on the couch in their spacious living room. A movie had been playing earlier, a romantic comedy per Maggie's suggestion, but now the credits were rolling.

"Win what?" Maggie looked up from where she had been leaning her head against his shoulder.

"The bet. You know, the one about Carol and Daryl?"

"You were serious about that?" She sat up straight so she didn't have to continue to crane her neck to look up at his face.

"Yeah," he answered. "I mean, did you see them at dinner? Practically the whole time they were whispering and laughing with one another. If that's not flirting, then I don't know what is."

"Sweetie, when we first met, you didn't even know _how_ to flirt. You still don't." She nudged him in the ribs, smiling. "I still love you, anyway."

Glenn glared at his girlfriend. "You know what I meant."

Maggie chuckled and kissed him on the cheek, making him feel a little better. "Okay, okay. I do. But you're right, they _were_ flirting. The thing is, though, I don't think _they_ realize that they were. I mean, they've been glued to each other since the plane and might not think much of it."

"Do you think they need a push in the right direction?" Glenn asked.

"I don't think we should interfere. They're doing just fine on their own." She settled her head back on his shoulder. "You can play the movie you still want to watch."

"You'll fall asleep during it," he huffed and picked up the remote to choose the movie he wanted to watch first from the queue of several other movies.

"I know. That's why I said we could watch it after the one I wanted to." Maggie snuggled closer into his side and before the opening scene was over, her eyes were closed in sleep.

* * *

"I'm still not entirely certain you didn't cheat," Daryl grumbled as he walked Carol back to her room. During their rounds of poker, Carol had kicked his ass. Every. Single. Time. If they had been betting real money, he would have lost everything to her, even the shoes on his feet.

"I did not!" She protested and elbowed him. "I'm just that good."

"I need to take you with me whenever my brother gets invited to poker nights at his buddies houses. You'd clean them all out."

"You'd still want to hang out once we're done with our job here?" Carol stopped in the middle of the hallway and asked shyly. She couldn't even brave a look at him and she had her lower lip between her teeth.

"Of course, I don't want us to just be work friends...unless, you don't want to hang out once we're done here." Now it was Daryl's turn to act insecure. He had come for this job, thinking he would just wake up every morning, do his job and then, go to bed. He never thought he would meet someone that he would actually want to spend time with.

"Of course, I do! My mom will love it when she sees I'm spending time with a man." Instantly she froze, eyes wide. "I mean, as a friend, of course. I don't...get out of the house much and spend time with people my age." Her face was red and Daryl found it enduring.

"All right, then. So, what are you doing October the..." he thought for a moment. "Seventh?"

"That's the day we get home," she said.

"I know," he said, simply with a shrug. "I figured we could have grab some dinner or somethin' once we get off the plane. If you still like me by then." He was only half-kidding. Part of him was afraid that Carol would find out more about him and not like what she found.

"I'm sure I'll like you just fine when we're done here." Daryl tried not to think too much of it when, once again, Carol's face grew red.

* * *

"Good morning, everyone!" Phillip Blake walked into the cafeteria with a bright smile, looking as well-put together as he had the day before. "I hope you're enjoying your breakfast."

Unlike their supper, breakfast was served buffet style with several choices to pick from. The men particularly liked the different meat choices and heaped their plates full. Also, unlike the night before, instead of sitting at one long table, they were allowed to sit at any table they wanted too. Carol and Daryl took a table in the corner of the room, which offered them a perfect view at the rest of the group.

Lori, Rick and Shane all sat together. Glenn and Maggie sat on their own, just like Carol and Daryl. Tyresse, Sasha, T-Dog sat at another table while Michonne and Andrea sat at another. However, when Blake walked in the room, Andrea had stopped trying to make conversation with the stoic woman and focused on the handsome man.

"Once you are all finished, I would like for you all to meet me in the lobby, which is the room where we first met yesterday, and we will start our tour." When he finished talking, he walked around the room and talked a little with each of the tables.

"Maybe he'll forget we're over here," Daryl mumbled as he leaned over his plate.

"Maybe if we see him coming, we can get up and throw our stuff away. That way he can't talk to us," Carol suggested and stuffed a forkful of scrambled eggs in her mouth.

"I like your idea." Daryl began to shovel food in his mouth and when both of their plates were empty, they stood...and nearly ran into Phillip Blake. The man gave them a knowing smile.

"Ah, I see you two are in a hurry to start the tour, huh?"

Carol looked at Daryl, who was looking back at her, eyes wide and not knowing what to say. "U-Uh, yes! I've been looking forward to it since I got hired." It wasn't a lie, she had been excited to see the attractions of Jurassic Park, but that hadn't been why they wanted to get the hell out of there, now. However, she'd let Phillip think whatever he wanted as long as he made this conversation quick.

"Soon. We'll be on our way soon." He reached out a hand and squeezed her shoulder gently. She felt Daryl tense beside her and resisted the urge to shrug Blake's touch from her, but didn't want to appear rude.

"I will see you two in a few minutes." Phillip let go of Carol and walked over to the table that had Rick, Shane and Lori sitting at it.

"Let's throw our shit away and get out of here," Daryl whispered, sounding a little angry.

"Good idea," she whispered back.

Quickly, they threw their stuff away and headed toward the lobby. There they would be allowed a few minutes of peace before everyone else, plus Blake, joined them and they were on their way to see the dinosaurs.

* * *

Daryl and Carol barely made it to the lobby when Michonne and T-Dog joined them. The two of them were silent as they walked in, but Carol and Daryl were no longer alone and that disappointed Daryl. In the cafeteria, he had been able to have Carol all to himself, but there were still other people around that could see their every move. He wanted to have her to himself, with no one around, at least for a little bit before everyone else joined them but it didn't look like it was meant to be. Maybe later, after dinner, they could meet up in the rec room, again.

Several minutes later, the rest of the group walked in; including Phillip, Milton, Eugene and Edwin. They would be assisting with the tour.

Phillip led them all outside where four jeeps waited for them. They were the same ones that had brought them from the airport. "These will be the vehicles, you and our park visitors, will be touring in. Most of the time, they will be pulled along on a track, but where we are going first, we have to drive there.

"Milton, Eugene, Edwin and I will be in each of the driver's seats and act as your tour guides today. So, ladies and gentleman," he looked at Glenn, who groaned and rolled his eyes, and winked. "Pay attention to how it's done."

The four men went to a vehicle while everyone else stood around, unsure if they would be assigned to a jeep or could just get into whatever one they wanted. When nothing was said after a few minutes, they all walked toward the jeeps.

"Let's get in the one with Milton," Daryl suggested. "I actually like him."

"You were reading my mind," Carol whispered. Together, they walked into the last jeep of the line up and climbed into the back seat together.

"Hello," Milton turned in his seat and greeted them. "You are Carol and Daryl, right?"

"We are," Carol answered with a smile.

"Did you know your names rhyme?"

Carol felt her face heat up. "Uh. We did." Even if they hadn't, it wouldn't have taken them long to figure out.

"Hm, I wonder if that means anything," Milton seemed to be talking to himself and turned back in his seat.

"What do you mean by that?" Daryl asked, unable to keep silent. What _had_ he meant? Was it supposed to be anything that their names rhymed? However, before Milton could say anything the passenger's seat opened and Maggie slipped into it and greeted Milton. The other back door opened and Glenn took a seat next to Carol.

"Hey, guys," Glenn said with a little wave, which Carol returned.

"Are we all ready to go?" Milton asked.

"Yes," everyone answered at the same time, causing them all to fall into soft chuckles. They were all eager to start the tour and to see the dinosaurs.

Milton started the jeep and soon they were off following the others. Maggie turned in her seat to look at them. "So, what do you think is Phillip Blake's favorite attraction here? Glenn and I have been wondering all morning."

"We think it's the T-Rex," Glenn leaned forward so he could look at Carol and Daryl at the same time. "I mean, that's _easily_ going to be the most popular attraction. The logo is even a T-Rex." Maggie nodded in agreement with her boyfriend.

"Hmm." Carol tapped her chin with a finger and looked up at Daryl. "What do you think, Daryl? Honestly, I don't know. I feel like it being the T-Rex would be too easy." She glanced at the rearview mirror and caught Milton's eyes. "Can you tell us, Milton?"

"Sorry. Mr. Blake wants it to be a surprise. But we will be there shortly and you will see for yourself."

Maggie turned back around in her seat so she could look out her window while Daryl, Glenn and Carol craned their necks to look out Glenn's window. It looked as if they were driving through a forest. Thick greenery made it almost impossible for them to see very far in.

Then, all the greenery disappeared and they all pulled up to an all brick enclosure. The walls had to be almost fifty tall and on the table, it looked like an electric fence went all the way around it. Whatever was inside, they definitely didn't want out.

They all climbed out of the jeeps when they parked and gathered to where Phillip was standing.

"This is it," he said. "My favorite attraction. The velociraptor exhibit."

Daryl looked down at Carol and whispered, "Of course it would be fuckin' velociraptors."

* * *

**How many of you were surprised that Blake's favorite dinosaur would be the raptors? lol. Probably not many haha.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

Fucking velociraptors. Of course, Phillip Blake, with the predatory grin and always-watching eyes, would like these dinosaurs the best. He was one of them in human form. Something was always going on in that mind of his, something that Daryl knew wasn't so kind.

"Stay close to me," he mumbled to Carol, his protectiveness coming out. He had no reason to be protective, though. The velociraptors wouldn't be able to escape...or at least he hoped they wouldn't. And even if they did, he was no match for their razor sharp teeth and claws. If only he had his crossbow, he might have a chance.

 _Stop it!_ He chided himself. The last thing he needed to be thinking about was how to take down a fucking _dinosaur._ They were perfectly safe here. He had to think that or else he'd go insane.

However, Carol didn't even look at him oddly after telling her to stick close. Instead, she did just that. She was so close to him that if he were to lift his arm, she would be pressed against his side. Of course, he didn't mind that _at all_.

The rest of the groups seemed to have the same idea as Daryl and Carol. Lori and Rick, Glenn and Maggie, Tyreese and Sasha all huddled close to one another, while those who didn't have someone they knew on this trip gravitated close together. Andrea was practically glued to Phillip's arm.

"First, you will follow me to the top of the enclosure," Phillip turned to them all once more and said. "It's almost feeding time and I would like you all to witness it."

Daryl got a sick feeling in his gut and Carol wrapped her arms around his. "I don't want to see this," she said, looking pale.

"If it gets to be too much, just put your face in my arm. All right?" She nodded and as a group, they were all lead up to the top of the enclosure.

Nothing could be seen except for the tops of trees and other greenery. Not a velociraptor in sight. Daryl sighed in relief and Carol relaxed beside him, though she didn't let go of his arm. Glenn turned and gave them a look that most-likely mirrored their own. There was no excitement in his face, just apprehensiveness.

A moo had them all looking up. A cow, a fucking _cow_ , was harnessed to a pulley and was being lowered into the enclosure. No one's eyes left the creature as it was lowered down into the green leaves. The poor animal didn't know what was about to happen to him. It continued to moo.

"Oh my God," Carol whispered and pressed her face into Daryl's arm. It did no good, though. They couldn't see the velociraptors attack their meal, but they could _hear_ it.

The raptors sounded as if they were _screaming_ as they descended on the cow, the poor cow. If the screams haunted all of their dreams that night, the sounds the cow made as it was being torn apart _alive_ would haunt their dreams for the rest of their stay there.

Daryl cringed and ducked his head, along with everyone else in the group. Except for one. Phillip Blake's eyes hadn't left the spot where the cow had disappeared to and he was _smiling_.

When the dying moans of the cow finally stopped and the screams of the feeding velociraptors ceased, Phillip Blake turned to the rest of the group, sick smile still in place. He didn't seem to notice the pale faces of his employees.

"Would you like to see them?"

No one said a word. Glenn looked ready to vomit and Maggie seemed to be holding him up. Shane was the brave one to step forward and answer that they would like to see them. Carol clung to Daryl's arm as they made their descent down the stairs and around the building until they came to a rectangle of glass. Everyone looked apprehensive as they approached the window. Carol let go of Daryl and took a slight step forward. Nothing could be seen, except for thick green bushes and trees.

Blake knocked on the glass and smiled at them. "Don't worry. Nothing can get through this. We have two layers of bullet proof glass."

"I don't care if you have a hundred layers," Daryl muttered, but was curious to finally see the screaming dinosaurs.

Then, suddenly they were there.

There were five of them total and they all materialized out of the greenery. Everyone took surprised steps back, except Blake, who placed a hand on the glass as if they were his most cherished pets.

One of the raptors, an all gray one with a dark green line going down its back and to its tail, scanned the crowd. When it's eyes landed on Carol, it let out a screeching noise and rushed at the glass. Without thinking, Daryl stepped in front of her and blocked the creature's view of Carol. It's eyes were now focused on Daryl's, along with everyone else, as well.

It skitted to a halt only inches from the glass and they were able to see the full size of the creature. The raptor's yellow eyes did not leave Daryls'.

Daryl didn't back down. If the raptors were like any other animal, he had to show them who was in charge, who was the Alpha. Later, he would wonder why the thing had decided it wanted to go after Carol, but right now, he was going to send a message to it. Carol was off limits.

The raptor's eyes bore into Daryl's, but he wasn't going to look away. Not until it did first.

"Daryl?" Carol whispered and tugged on his shirt. "What are you doing?" She didn't understand what was going on at the moment and he would tell her later.

"Daryl?" This time it was Blake. "Is something the matter?" Daryl wasn't going to look away, not for one second, to gauge the look on Blake's face.

Finally. _Finally_. The raptor looked away and back to his companions. They made a series of sounds amongst one another, communicating, and then they were gone. Back into the greenery. However, no one was paying attention to them. They were all looking at Daryl and Carol.

"Why did that one look like it wanted to attack Carol?" Andrea asked, finally breaking the eerie silence of the group.

"I believe that mayb-" Milton started, but was interrupted by Phillip.

"We will never know. But that was pretty exciting." The smile on his face was off. _Very_ off. "Daryl, you do know that they wouldn't have been able to get to Carol, right? Like I said earlier, there's two layers of bullet proof glass separating us and them."

Daryl stepped away from in front of Carol and knew he should have felt embarrassed for how he had reacted, but he truly thought that animal was going to plow straight through the glass to Carol. "I know. Just a reaction," he mumbled. Later, he would think about _why_ his first reaction was to jump in front of Carol, to protect her, when they barely knew one another.

Walking back to the jeeps, Carol tugged on Daryl's arm. "What was that?" She asked. Daryl couldn't read the expression on her face, but was glad to see there wasn't any anger.

"I don't know," he mumbled. "I saw the thing charge at you and I reacted."

"If there had been no glass, you could have been killed."

It would have been too cheesy to say, _I'd die to protect you, Carol._ So, he just shrugged and they continued walking in silence.

* * *

"Man, I don't think I can take anymore," Glenn groaned when he climbed into the jeep beside Carol and Daryl. "The velociraptors scared the shit out of me. I hope to God I don't have to give the tours there, I'd piss myself every time." This was clearly meant to crack a smile on everyone's faces, but both Carol, Daryl and Milton seemed to be off in their own little worlds. Maggie turned around in her seat and gave him a sympathetic smile.

Milton started the jeep and wordlessly they moved on to the next dinosaur exhibit. However, the site of the triceratops and brachiosaurus, didn't get Daryl out of his funk. Carol, too. They were awed at the supposed extinct creatures, but what had transpired at the velociraptor pin still reeled through their minds, rattling them.

Carol pulled Daryl slightly off to the side, so she could speak to Daryl without anyone else hearing. At the moment, they were walking through the large, grassy area as Phillip, Eugene, Milton and Edwin pointed out all the different types of herbivores.

"Can we talk later?" She asked. "In the rec room? If there's someone in there, maybe we could talk in my room." Daryl looked unsure for a moment and Carol's heart sank. Was he growing tired of her already?

"Uh, sure."

"Thanks." She gave him a smile. He didn't return it and stepped back with their group.

* * *

It wasn't that Daryl _didn't_ want to talk with Carol. It was just that he knew what she was going to talk to him about and he wasn't ready for that. She was going to ask why his first reaction was to step in front of her instead of cower like some of the group had done.

Daryl wished he would say that he didn't know why he had done it, but that was no longer true. Since the moment he had sat next to Carol on the plane, there had been something that had drawn him to her. She hadn't judged him, not for a second when she looked at him. She hadn't looked down at him for dropping out of high school. Daryl was sure if he had been sitting by anyone else on that plane, he would have wanted to get off this island the moment he had stepped foot on it. Now, he wasn't sure if he wanted to leave.

Sure, it had dinosaurs that could eat him, but he was also given easy access to Carol, which sounded a little wrong in his head. What he meant was that if he wanted to talk to Carol, she was right there beside him. If he was in his room and wanted to speak with her, all he had to do was go down the hall and there she was.

Back at home, they might as well be worlds apart even though they lived so close. One of them would have to find the courage to pick up the phone to call the other so they could talk or just hang out and Daryl wasn't sure if that would be him.

An hour later, they were heading toward the last attraction of the park. The T-Rex exhibit. Everyone seemed to be on edge when they climbed back into the jeeps. Even Milton. If the raptors had acted the way they did, how would something bigger react to them. Especially something that could literally eat them in one bite.

"You excited for this?" Daryl asked and nudged Carol. "This was the dinosaur you were most looking forward to on the plane. Unless, you changed your mind."

"I changed my mind," she mumbled nearly into his shoulder. " _Definitely_ changed my mind. Milton, can we go back to the main building?" Though no one said anything in agreement, they all looked like they wanted to go back, as well.

"Uh. Sorry." There was a jolt and Milton lifted his hands off the wheel. "We're on the track, now."

"Great," Glenn sighed. "So, is anyone regretting this job, yet?"

When they reached the enclosure that was supposed to house the T-Re they saw that the only thing keeping it inside was an electric fence and a drop before the fence that had to be around 100 feet deep. Surely, a dinosaur as big as the T-Rex would be able to jump the gap and snap the fence like it was dental floss.

No one got out of the jeeps.

"It's dinner time," Milton turned around said.

"What will it eat?" Carol asked

Her question was quickly answered when a cage was being raised up in the pen. Inside the cage was a goat. A live goat. Glenn looked a little green in the face. First, they had witnessed a live cow being visciously ripped apart and now, they would be seeing a goat.

However, the large dinosaur didn't appear. They couldn't even hear the footsteps approaching.

"Maybe it's not hungry," Glenn said, hopefully.

"We'll just wait a little longer. Blake really wants you all to see all the dinosaurs the park has to offer."

They waited for forty-five minutes. Glenn tried to start up a game of I Spy, which only lasted for three rounds. No one seemed ineterested in playing games at the moment. Especially since they were still anxiously waiting for the T-Rex. Daryl felt a little like they were prey, as well. It was like they were waiting for the carnivore to come pick them off in their bright yellow jeeps.

"Mamet," Edwin's voice came through the radio. "Blake says we'll be heading back, now. It's lunch time. He says we can always show them another day."

Daryl wasn't the only one who sighed in relief.


	6. Chapter Six

**I'm officially on Spring Break, so hopefully I'll be able to update my other WIPs.**

**Thank you to all those who are reading this, it means a lot!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Six**

Lunch was a quiet affair. Everyone was sitting in their same spots as breakfast. However, instead of talking amongst themselves, they all kept stealing glances at Carol and Daryl. Obviously the incident with the velociraptors had not been forgotten.

"I feel like we're one of Blake's exhibits," Carol muttered over her sandwich after catching Lori Grimes's eye again before it skittered away.

"I'm considerin' takin' my food to my room to eat," Daryl grumbled. He hated being stared at, especially for something like what he had done earlier that day. He was already embarrassed by it and didn't need people to constantly remind him of what happened, even though they weren't saying anything.

"Do you want to? We can go to my room, instead. It's closer." At first, he had thought that Carol was just joking, but when he looked at her face, he saw that she was completely serious.

"Hell yeah, let's do this." Without another word, they picked up their remaining lunches and ignored the curious glances as they left the eating area to head to Carol's room.

"There isn't really any place to sit," Carol said when they walked through the living room and then, to her room. "I'm sure you know that, already because it's just like your room, right?" She laughed somewhat nervously. Together, they were standing in the middle of the room with their plates in their hands.

"Uh… we can sit on the...bed," Daryl suggested, cheeks flaming.

"Oh, okay." Without looking at him, she sat on the bed and placed her back against the headboard. She didn't look at Daryl, knowing that he was probably feeling just as nervous as she. Finally, Daryl took a seat at the edge of her bed. His eyes didn't leave his plate as he quietly ate. It was still better than sitting where everyone was gawking at them.

After a few minutes, Carol had enough of the silence and she was almost done eating. "Daryl," she said. He turned to look at her, his plate empty.

"Uh, yeah?"

"I was wondering if we could have that talk, now." Carol saw the way Daryl's shoulders tensed and wished she could take back the question. The subject was clearly an uncomfortable one for him and she really didn't need to know why he had jumped in front of her when the raptor charged.

"S-Sure."

Carol placed her empty plate on the night table to her right. "I know I'm probably annoying you wit-"

"You're not annoyin' me," he responded quickly.

She smiled. "I'm glad. It's just that I don't...understand what happened earlier. You just jumped in front of me. If that raptor had been loose, you would have saved my life."

"It wasn't anythin' really." He shrugged. "I didn't want you to get hurt."

Carol reached across the bed and squeezed Daryl's hand. "And I really appreciate it. I, uh, I wish I could have done the same." She took her hand back and brought her knees to her chest. "You would have saved my life in a second, no hesitation, but if it were me, I would have been frozen. I wouldn't have been able to save _anybody._ "

"Course you would have," Daryl said softly. "And no one would have blamed you for freezin' up. We're goin' against fuckin' _dinosaurs_ here. Ain't like we got much of a chance, huh?"

Carol smiled at him over her knees, feeling a little better. Not many people were able to make her feel better like that. Her mom tried, but most of the time Carol would end up feeling _worse_ about herself. "Thanks, Daryl."

He blushed and looked away from her as he mumbled, "It ain't nothin'."

Together, they fell into a comfortable silence. Carol leaned against the headboard, knees still propped under her chin and Daryl leaned back on his elbows, looking a lot more at ease at being in her room.

"Do you want to see my knife?" She blurted out, suddenly remembering the weapon she had found lying on her pillow when she walked into the room marked with her name.

"Sure." Daryl sat up. "As long as you promise not to stab me with it," he teased.

"Only if you promise to not be an asshole," she winked and reached into the top drawer of her night table to take out the knife in its sheath. Without getting it out, she handed it to Daryl. "There," she said. "That way I can't even stab you _accidentally_ _._ "

"Ha ha." Daryl took the sheath and build the knife from it by looping four fingers through the brass knuckle handle. "Wow," he whistled. "This is pretty bad ass." With the other hand, he touched the tip of the blade and hissed when it pricked his finger. "And it's _sharp_." He put the knife back and handed it to Carol.

"If the dinosaurs do get out, I don't know how this knife will help me survive. I have to practically be in the thing's teeth for it to be useful." She put the knife away in the drawer.

"Well, just stick with me, then."

She straightened a leg and nudged him with a toe. "Planned on it."

* * *

Someone was knocking loudly on her door and it was giving her a headache. She felt comfortable and warm and didn't want to get up.

"Carol! Are you in there? It's time for dinner and Blake is waiting for you." Though she hadn't heard the voice much, she knew that it was Sasha banging on the door.

"I'm up!" She called and opened her eyes, but found that she couldn't move her feet. Looking down, she saw that Daryl was lying on them, fast asleep. The loud knocking hadn't woken him up.

"All right. Oh, and if you see Daryl, can you tell him its time to eat, too?"

"Got it!"

Sitting up, Carol leaned forward and pushed Daryl with her hands, hoping it would wake him up. It didn't. "Daryl," she said and patted his cheek. "Come on, you got get up and off my feet."

"Stahp," he mumbled and rolled over, which would have freed her, if he hadn't rolled closer to her.

"Daryl," she whined and tried to wiggle her toes. "Get up! Don't make me get my knife and poke you with it."

Nothing.

"Humph," she grumped and crossed her arms, accepting that she would be stuck right there for the rest of the night. It didn't matter that she was hungry and that Blake would be giving them their work assignments. She was stuck.

Suddenly, Daryl jerked in his sleep and his eyes were squeezed shut. "Fuck. Get away! Shit, Carol! No!"

Daryl's eyes shot open and landed right on Carol. First, Carol saw relief wash across his face and then, it turned red. _Bright_ red. In an instant, he was on his feet and rubbed a hand through his hair, making the ends stick up. "Shit. Did I just say all that out loud?"

Carol knew she could lie and say no, but he'd probably know she was lying, anyway. "Uh, yeah. Was it a nightmare?"

"Yeah. You don't want to know what happened."

With the way he had said her name, Carol knew he was right. She had probably died horribly in his dream or something because when he said her name it was said in anguish.

"Okay." She climbed from the bed, glad that she could feel her feet, again. "Well, Sasha just came by and said it was time for dinner, so we should probably head down there, now."

"A-All right," he said, looking slightly dazed. "Let's go, then."

* * *

Various conversations were happening around the table as everyone seemed to warm-up to each other. Carol was engaged in one with Michonne, who was to her left while Daryl sat silently to her right. He wasn't talking to Tyreese who was on his other side or Glenn who was across from him. Instead, he focused on his plate and stayed in his thoughts.

What the hell was wrong with him? He couldn't believe he had fallen asleep on Carol's bed and then, called out her name while he was having a nightmare. She was probably thinking he was some kind of freak and wouldn't want anything to do with him, now.

At least, she was being nice about it. Three times, now, she had turned and given him a bright smile and one time, he could have sworn her hand had grazed his knee under the table. Either that or Glenn was desperately trying to play footsie with him, which could very well be the case. Especially since every time Daryl looked across the table, Glenn would quickly look away and avoid any eye contact.

The sound of something hitting a glass cup had everyone at the table fall silent almost instantly. Daryl had to roll his eyes at the signal. Couldn't the man just use his voice and not tap his glass as if he were going to make some grand toast?

"Attention everyone," Phillip Blake stood from his seat and said. "I hope you all are enjoying your meals and are getting to know one another." His gaze swept across them all, but for some reason, they seemed to remain on Daryl the longest. He had to look away.

"It is time that I let you all know where you will be working." With a signal of his hand, one of the kitchen workers brought forward a bowl. Inside the bowl, everyone could see that there were small scraps of paper.

"There are four exhibits in which we need guides and security," he started to explain. "The T-Rex pen, the herbivore tour, the velociraptors and here, in the main building. I will need two guides and security here and with the herbivores, I'll need two guides and one security. The raptors will only have one of each, since it is the smallest exhibit. The T-Rex pen will get one guide, but two security members."

"Shouldn't there be _more_ at those places since they can actually, you know, _eat_ you?" Glenn spoke up.

"Mr. Rhee, our pens are _perfectly_ safe. There is no worries of them ever escaping. If there were, I would not have this park open." The smile was false on his face and Daryl wondered if he was the only one to notice it.

Glenn didn't look convinced, but didn't say anything more.

"Now, I already have my security team placed. All that is left is to place my guides. I will pull names from this bowl, so that it may be fair. If you are chosen for one of the place that requires two guides, then you may choose the other one."

There were murmurs among the group. Daryl saw Carol briefly scan the group, brows furrowing. It looked as if she was trying to decide who she would pick if she had to choose. Daryl knew that she hadn't spent any time with any of them. He had taken up all of her time.

"First, I will be choosing for the T-Rex pen." He placed a hand into the bowl and carefully dug around. Everyone at the table seemed to be holding their breaths and when Blake's hand surfaced with a slip of paper between his fingers, all eyes were on it.

Blake opened the paper and smiled. "Sasha. You will be our T-Rex's guide." All eyes shifted from Blake to Sasha, who looked a little wide-eyed at realizing she would be working closely with a large animal that could eat her in one bite.

"No need to be scared, Ms. Williams. Your brother and Michonne will be there with you for security."

Sasha didn't look relieved at the news, but nodded her head, anyway.

"Next, the main building." Once again, he swirled his hand around the bowl and plucked a piece of paper. "Andrea," it read. "And lucky you, you can pick someone else."

Andrea shrugged. "I don't know." Her eyes went around the table. "Uh. Lori?"

"Lori, it is! And just _her_ luck, her husband and T-Dog will be the security."

"Seven of you have been placed, only five more left. Next, the herbivore tour." Another slip was in his hand. "Glenn!"

"I pick Maggie to be with me," he said, almost immediately.

Blake winked. "I would never have guessed." Light chuckles were heard around the table. "Shane will be your security. Though you won't be seeing much of him since he'll have his own booth and golf cart to drive around the premises." Glenn and Maggie shared a look at this.

"So, that just leaves my favorite, the velociraptors. Carol and Daryl are the only two left. Hm, how fitting that they would be together, huh?" More chuckles could be heard and Blake winked, once more.

Daryl and Carol looked at one another, once Phillip sat down, and Carol had a panicked look on her face. Daryl felt the same and tried hard not to show it. He needed to act like the brave one here, even though this was one of his worst nightmares. Especially with what had happened earlier in the day.

"Tomorrow," Blake announced, gaining everyone's attention, again. "You will start your training. The park does not open for another month and a half, so that should be adequate enough time to learn your part."

"I don't want to learn my part," Carol mumbled and slumped down in her chair.

Daryl joined her. "Me neither."

* * *

**Come on, you knew I had to pair Daryl and Carol up with the velociraptors! ;)**

**Thanks for reading!**


	7. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven**

Before every one finished their meals and went their separate ways, Phillip announced that they would all report to work at nine the next morning. Jeeps, like they had ridden in earlier, would take them to their destinations. Except for those who had to work at the main building. They had to report to work at eight-thirty since they did not have to go very far.

"At least, we can sleep in a little before we meet our deaths," Carol whispered to Daryl as they stood up from the table, along with everyone else.

"I better have damn good dreams, then," Daryl whispered back. _They better be dreams about you..._ He hadn't been ready for that train of thought, but lately the way he had been thinking surprised him, so he let it go. For now.

"Want to head to the rec room?" Carol asked in a normal tone this time. "It's looks like a lot of people are heading that way. Maybe we could get a big game of poker going. That way, when I beat you, you won't be the only one to lose."

"Shut up," he muttered and gently nudged Carol in the side. She giggled, the sound of it making his heart beat a little faster. If he could, he would get that sound out of her every time they interacted.

"Hey!" Glenn came flying out of nowhere and slung an arm around Carol's shoulder, not even trying to do the same with Daryl knowing he would probably lose a limb. "Maggie and I are going to plan an epic battle of _Sorry!_ and want to know if you'll join us. I'll even let you choose your color first. Just don't choose red, because that's mine."

" _Sorry!_?" Carol asked with slight surprise. "They actually have that here? I thought it was a kid's game." She turned around to look at Maggie, who was walking not far behind them. The woman shrugged her shoulders and rolled her eyes.

"Glenn found it in there earlier today and wanted to play, but I guess it's no fun if it's just two players. No one else wanted to play with him, so he kind of pouted until dinner."

"I did not." Glenn's arm fell from Carol's shoulders and he fell back into step with his girlfriend, instantly reaching to twine his hand through hers.

"So, what do you say?" He asked. "It'll be fun."

Carol looked up at Daryl, who gave a tiny shrug of his shoulders. Honestly, playing _SorryI_ didn't sound all that bad and if Carol wanted to play, that was a bonus.

"All right," she said and smiled. "We're in!"

* * *

"I want green," Carol declared when they got the board all set up on one of the fold out tables.

"Red!" Glenn quickly took the seat where the red part if the board was placed, which was also right next to Carol.

"Yellow," Maggie said less enthusiastically and took the seat next to Carol and across the table from Glenn. Daryl had no choice but to take the blue spot on the opposite side of Carol.

"Good, the couples are split up," Glenn said. "That means you can't cheat."

Carol and Daryl made eye contact over the board and Daryl opened his mouth to correct Glenn.

"I'll go first," he exclaimed, cutting Daryl off and moved to pick the top card off the pile.

They weren't the only ones in the room. Everyone else, except Shane and Lori were there. Rick explained that Lori was taking a shower before she joined them and Shane just didn't seem interested in getting to know everyone else. While Carol, Daryl, Glenn and Maggie played the childish game of _Sorry!_ (and frankly, not caring), the rest of the adults were spread out on the couches and chairs, attempting to start a conversation.

* * *

"Eight, nine...ten." Carol moved her green piece the appropriate amount of places, but came to a halt when she saw the blue piece sitting in her way. Glancing up, she saw Daryl looking at her expectantly.

"You know what you must do, Carol," Glenn said, sagely.

"Can't we share a space? Just this once! I mean, I have _all_ of my pieces out and this is Daryl's only one and he _just_ got it out."

"No, Carol. You must show no mercy," Glenn said with a serious face. Maggie nodded her head, agreeing with her boyfriend.

"Fine," Carol pouted and swiped Daryl's piece off the space and placed it back in the start spot. "I'll avenge you, Daryl. Don't worry. I was told to show no mercy and I won't." Glenn and Maggie's eyes grew wide. They still had pieces in their start places and Carol had two in the home space with one only three spaces away and the other only half a board away.

Ten minutes later, Carol's last piece went into the home spot while Glenn tried to recover from being sent home twice just moments before. Daryl still only had one piece out, but he didn't seem to care.

"Now, that Carol's won, what's next? A game of _Candyland?_ " Daryl had said it as a joke, but Glenn shot from his seat, exclaiming that he had seen that game, too, leaving the rest of them to clean up.

"Glenn's a kid, sometimes," Maggie explained.

"There's nothing wrong with that," Carol said with a smile. "I think we just need to let go and it's been even _longer_ since I've played a good game of _Candyland._ " She slid into the seat Glenn had vacated so that she could sit next to Daryl for this one.

Once the game was cleared and Glenn hadn't returned, Maggie took the _Sorry!_ box to put away and make sure Glenn hadn't gotten buried under a pile of old games.

"Did I avenge you, Daryl?" Carol asked. "Because if I didn't, I bet I could in this game."

"You plan on winnin' this one, too, huh?" He narrowed his eyes at her, but in a playful way.

"Of course! If you hadn't noticed by now, I can be very competitive."

"Uh huh. _Can't we share a space? Just once? Oh, please, please please!_ " Daryl mimicked her, using a slightly higher pitched voice and everything. "Doesn't sound very competitive to me." Normally, he would never act like this (especially in public) but Carol made him do things he would never do. And... he was fine with that.

She slapped him in the arm. "I felt sorry for you and that was it!" She pouted. "Fine, I won't help you, anymore."

"Found it!" Glenn nearly ran back to the table with _Candyland_ in his hands. Maggie followed him, smiling fondly at her boyfriend.

"Great!" Carol exclaimed, excited, too. "Let's play!"

* * *

"You let me win," Daryl grumbled as he walked Carol back to her apartment. They had finished their game of _Candyland_ a half hour before and then, he sat and talked with Glenn and Maggie for a little bit. All four of them were nervous for tomorrow, but not as nervous as Daryl and Carol.

"At least Maggie and I get to work with dinosaurs that won't _eat_ us," Glenn had said, which didn't make them feel any better. Maggie elbowed him hard in the ribs and sent him a glare. After that, they talked about anything else that didn't involve their new jobs.

"I did not!" Carol protested, somewhat weakly. Or so Daryl thought, because he could see right through her.

"Uh huh. Whatever you say." They approached the door to her apartment and stopped in front of it. From inside, they couldn't hear any noises, which meant Sasha, Michonne and Andrea were most likely all in their bedrooms.

"Believe it or not, I don't win at _everything_ , Daryl." She rolled her eyes up at him.

Daryl placed his forearm against her door and leaned down closer to Carol. "I don't believe that," he whispered and for a moment, he wondered how she would react if he were to close the last few inches between them to kiss her.

She'd probably flip and then slap him. So, he kept his lips to himself.

"Well, I should probably get to bed, then. We have a big day tomorrow." She bit her lip and looked up at him. Before Daryl could react, she was stepping forward and wrapping her arms around him.

Just as quick as she did that, she stepped back. "Goodnight, Daryl." She didn't want for a response before she quickly opened the door and slipped inside. Daryl could only look at the place she had just vacated with surprise and confusion.

* * *

Carol practically ran to the safety of her room and when she closed the door, she leaned against the wood and took deep breaths. It wasn't the hug she had just given Daryl that was making her feel this way. No, it was because she had just realized something that night. Something that had started on the plane, but she had tried to ignore.

She was falling in love with Daryl.

* * *

"How are they growing, Dr. Jenner?"

It was late and no one else was in the labs except for Phillip Blake and Dr. Edwin Jenner. Often, they would meet up at this time, when no one was around, to discuss the various dinosaurs of the park. However, Jenner knew exactly what Blake was referring to in his question.

"They are about half-grown, now. About two more days and they will be full-size."

"Perfect." Phillip smiled. "It just so happens that everyone in the labs will be going on a month long vacation in two days."

Jenner wheeled away from his desk and stood. "Aren't you worried about the two you assigned to the pen? They'll be right there."

"No, I'm not worried about them, at all. Dixon seems more than capable to take care of himself and he won't let a thing happen to that woman, either." The other man only nodded and together, they started to walk toward the back of the laps.

"Just think, Edwin, in a few days, our experiment will be under way and we'll finally have answers."

"Yes, we will," the geneticist said. "Man versus beast. Who will win?"


	8. Chapter Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. My computer crashed and I lost EVERYTHING. Pictures, music, chapters I haven't updated yet. Luckily, I had all the chapter for this uploaded already on to my docs. I would have died otherwise. I also have to get a new laptop, so I don't know how often updates will be. I have a desktop computer but it's kind of a pain. So, please be patient with me!
> 
> Oh, and I love love this chapter, too! :)

**Chapter Eight**

The next morning, no one seemed too eager to go to their first day of work. Especially Carol, Daryl, Sasha, Tyreese and Michonne, since they would be dealing with the most dangerous animals at the park. However, Phillip Blake seemed to have enough excitement than all of them put together. After breakfast, he greeted them in the lobby of the main lobby, beaming. "Good morning, everyone!" The tone of his voice grated against Daryl's nerves. He had not slept well the night before.

Looking to Carol, who was standing next to him, he blushed. Last night, he hadn't slept well because of his dreams. Fortunately, no nightmares plagued them. They might as well have, though, for all the times he forced himself to wake up. One time, he even had to rush to the bathroom and splash cold water on his face.

Carol had been featured in all of his dreams and in them, they were kissing and touching. Every time, he woke up before things got too far, though Daryl desperately wanted to stay asleep. But he knew he wouldn't feel comfortable around Carol if he had let them continue. Even now, he knew his face would heat every time he looked in her direction.

Daryl wondered how soft her lips were. They must have been like heaven for the way his dream self seemed to constantly seek out her mouth.

"Good luck out there, everyone," Blake was saying. "And I will see you all for dinner." Daryl realized that he had zoned out during whatever speech Blake had said and didn't care. If it were anything important, Carol would tell him.

When Blake turned to walk away from the group; Lori, Andrea, Rick and T-Dog followed. They were the lucky ones that didn't have to travel to their work spot and didn't have to deal with any of the dinosaurs.

Carol's hand brushed his and Daryl looked down just in time to see her jerk it away, as if he had burned her. He didn't know what to make of that, so he crossed his arms over his chest and made sure it didn't happen, again.

The remaining members walked outside to await the yellow jeeps that would take them to their job. Milton was behind the wheel of the jeep that would take them to the velociraptors. Carol took the front seat without a word and Daryl had no choice but to sit in the back by himself. Something was going on with Carol and his stomach felt all tied up in knots. Had she finally grown sick of him? She had seemed fine the night before teasing him as they played with Maggie and Glenn and afterwards, she had hugged him.

Had he smelled weird when she did that and it grossed her out? He had taken a shower that morning, so he should have smelled fine.

"Well, here we are," Milton announced as he pulled the jeep into the front of the concrete enclosure that held four velociraptors. His eyes darted between Carol and Daryl, almost as if he sensed the tension between them.

"In the trunk are all of the things you will need while you are here. Today is just about learning about the raptors," he said mostly to Carol. "It will be like this for a few days and later we'll practice how you will conduct a tour."

Carol nodded and Milton's gaze shifted to Daryl. "For you, you will familiarize yourself with the security booth and you will keep on eye on Carol. Not only are you security for our dinosaurs, but for our employees, as well."

 _That's what I thought I was for here for in the first place,_ he thought. _Not for the dinosaurs, but for the people!_ If a dinosaur had razor sharp teeth and claws, they didn't need protection.

"I'll come by at noon for your lunch and you will have an hour to eat. If you have any problems, there is a walkie talkie in the booth. When I come by with your lunch, please feel free to ask me any questions you may have. Hopefully, I'll have the answers for you."

The two of them nodded. When he didn't speak anymore, they saw that as their cue to get out of the jeep and gather the things from the back. Daryl was the first to reach the door and he opened it for Carol, since it was all of her things back there.

"This is it?" She asked, lifting up a thick book with a picture of a velociraptor on the cover (which she shuddered a bit at it). There was also a notebook and pen that he assumed were for taking notes.

"It looks like its school all over again," Daryl said and shut the door. Milton didn't waste any time in driving away, leaving them alone.

"Good thing I planned on being a teacher someday," she sighed and held the book close to her chest, not wanting to see the picture on the front anymore.

The tension from earlier seemed to disappear and Daryl wondered if he had imagined the whole thing. At least, Carol was talking with him and acting normal.

"Uh, you got a specific place you have to go to read that thing?" He asked.

"Um, I don't think so. Milton didn't say anything about that. I'd rather not be close to the raptors, though, if I can help it."

"Want to hang out in my booth? It's probably small as shit, but this way we can keep each other company."

"Sure. I'd rather be with you, then by myself with _them._ " She shuddered again.

"All right. Um." Daryl looked around, hoping to spot the booth. It was odd that Milton had just dropped them off with a book and no other instructions. "I think that's it." He finally spotted a small building several feet from the raptor enclosure.

"Lead the way." Carol swooped her arm in front of her with a teasing grin.

The booth was small, but it had a desk and a chair for Daryl. There were also several monitors focused on different places around the enclosure. There was even one set inside of it. Daryl was glad he couldn't see any of the raptors at the moment.

"Do you think I'll have any down time between tours so I can hang out here?" Carol asked from the other side of the desk. She had taken an extra chair and set it down, leaving Daryl the chair that was on wheels behind the desk.

"I hope so. I mean, we should be able to eat lunch together, right?"

"I just hope that while we're eating lunch, the raptors are getting fed, too, so we don't have to see it." She shuddered, thinking of what they had to witness the day before.

"We'll still have to hear it, though," he grumbled.

Carol shuddered, again.

* * *

"Did you know that velociraptor means 'speedy thief' and that they can run up to forty miles an hour?" Carol had her guide book opened on her lap and a notebook set in front of her. She had titled the first page _Interesting Facts about Raptors_ and had scribbled down anything she found interesting on the lined page. Daryl had his feet propped up on the desk, _his_ desk and went between looking at the monitors and watching Carol. After all, it _was_ his job.

"I didn't know that and honestly, I could have gone my whole life not knowin' the last part," he said. He didn't want to know that the damn things could run fast. It meant they had a less chance of survival if they were to ever break lose.

"They also hunt in packs," she continued, nibbling on the eraser of her pencil. "Oh, and here's another fact you'll love." She smiled at him before looking down at her book. "They have thirteen to fifteen teeth in its upper jaw and fourteen to fifteen teeth in its lower jaw. These teeth are widely spaced and serrated, though more strongly on the back edge than the front."

"Maybe you should stop readin' from that before I piss my pants."

Carol giggled and closed the book. On her sheet of paper, she had three lines filled but that didn't seem to bother her. "Now what should we do? I hope I'm not supposed to read this thing all day. I'd die of boredom."

Daryl shrugged. "Don't know. It seems like that's what you're supposed to do. I wonder if everyone else is doing the same."

"I don't know." Carol placed the book on the desk. "I'm bored. Let's play a game."

"Like what? And should I quit now since I know you'll win," he teased.

"No! But you're right, I'll probably win." She cocked her hip and gave him a smug smile. "Let's place _I Spy._ "

"What?"

She walked around the desk and took a seat by his feet on the desk top, glancing at the various monitors. "We can play it right here," she said and pointed at the different screens. Daryl's feet slid from the desk and he turned in his chair to look more closely at them.

"All right," he agreed. "You go first."

"Hmm." She tapped her chin, blue eyes flitting from monitor to monitor. Daryl tried to watch to see which one her eyes would land on, but she caught up to him real quick and placed a hand over his eyes, playfully.

"No cheating, Daryl Dixon!"

"Yes, ma'am." He quickly shut his eyes, but peeked through one after a few seconds with a smile. Carol was still glaring at him, so he shut it once more. It was easy to mess with her.

"Okay. I got it," she finally announced. "I spy with my little eye something...green."

Daryl opened his eyes to scan the monitors. "Everythin' is green!" He exclaimed and narrowed his eyes at each monitor. After a few minutes, he stopped at one and pressed his finger against it, pointing at a bush near the woods. "That bush."

Carol gaped. "How did you know? Were you peeking again?"

"Nope." He chuckled, leaning back in his chair and placed his hands behind his head. "Just a lucky guess."

They played for an hour, laughing so hard their sides hurt and tears spilled down their cheeks.

"I spy with my little eye something g-"

"That tree."

"Dammit, Daryl!"

"I spy with my little eye so-"

"That rock right there."

"Fuck."

And so it continued. The clock that had seemed to be moving slow before was now speeding up and when Daryl glanced at it, he saw that it was almost time for lunch. Carol turned her head and noticed it, too. "Okay," she said. "One more and then, we can be done. It's your turn." She turned her back to the monitors, a rule they had established after Carol had spotted Daryl peeking more than once.

"All right. I spy with my little eye someth-Shit!" He nearly fell out of his chair.

"What?" Carol whirled around, nearly falling from the desk. "What is it?"

On the monitor that was in the raptor pen, the screen was completely filled wit a yellow eye. The pupil shifted around as if it was looking for them through the camera.

"What is it doing?" Carol asked, recovering a little.

"Don't know, but it's creepy as fuck."

The raptor stepped back so it's whole body was in view, but it's eyes never left the camera. Behind it, the other three joined it and they seemed to be talking to another by making strange noises as they looked at the camera.

"Why do I get the feeling they know we're watching them?" Carol whispered as if they could hear her from where they were.

"They probably are," Daryl whispered back.

At that moment, a yellow jeep pulled near the booth. Carol and Daryl were never more happier to see Milton than they were, then. They all but ran to the man, who looked a little alarmed at their fast approach.

"Everything all right?" He asked and adjusted his glasses on his face.

"Yeah, we're good," Daryl answered for the both of them, slightly out of breath. "Just starvin'."

"Oh, good." He brightened. "Then, I have something you'll want." He walked around to the front seat and presented them with two large lunch boxes. "I hope you all like chicken salad," he said. "Because that is what's in there, along with a bottle of water, some potato chips and a few chocolate chip cookies."

"It's perfect," Carol said and took her bag. Daryl did the same with his.

"So, uh, do you have any questions?" Milton asked, somewhat awkwardly as they stood staring at one another.

"All I'm doing today is reading that book, right?" Carol asked.

"Yes, and if you would like, you can walk around the enclosure and familiarize yourself with it."

Carol looked stricken and Daryl knew there was no way she was going to do that and if she did, he knew she'd be dragging him along.

"Okay."

"Daryl, do you have any questions?"

"Nope." He shook his head. "My job seems to be pretty straight forward."

"All right. If you don't have any questions, I'll be off." He walked back around to the driver's seat. "I'll return around five to pick you up. Normally, when there are tours, you will be here until six, but since you're still learning, you'll get out early."

"Sounds good," Carol smiled. Even though it was just an hour early, she was grateful that they wouldn't be out there as long as normal today. She had a weird feeling in her gut and it wasn't because she was hungry.

"See you two later." With a final wave, Milton was gone.

"Where do you want to eat this?" Daryl asked. "It's a beautiful day, so I'm sure you don't want to be cooped up in that booth. But there doesn't seem to be anywhere else to go."

Carol looked around, biting her lip. "Hm, I don't know."

_Moooo!_

They both froze, backs tensing at the sound, knowing what it meant. At the same time, they looked at one another, eyes wide. "Let's go somewhere where we can't hear them eating," Carol said. "I'll even eat in the woods."

Daryl knew the woods, well the woods back home, but how different were these ones, anyway. "Come on," he said. "Let's get the hell out of here."

Without looking back, they disappeared in the thick greenery that surrounded the velociraptor exhibit.

Daryl led the way as they journeyed through the trees. He was looking for a perfect place to eat their lunch, but so far hadn't found a thing. The trees and underbrush were dense and for a moment, he scared himself, thinking that there could be dinosaurs lurking somewhere.

"What's that?" Carol's voice had him stopping. She was pointing off to the right and when he followed her finger, he was surprised to see what looked like a little cabin. Did someone live out here?

"Want to check it out? Maybe we can eat lunch there." He asked.

"Sure."

They walked towards the building and Daryl knocked on the door, wondering what kind of person would be out there and why. However, when no one answered, he looked at Carol and shrugged.

"Open the door," she said.

So, he did.

The inside was small, so small that Daryl didn't think anyone _could_ live there. At least, permanently, anyway. There were three doors, one led to a tiny room, only big enough for a small cot and the other led to a bathroom that only had a sink and toilet. The main room was bare and along side one wall, there was a sink, stove and refrigerator.

The other door was on the opposite end of the cabin and Daryl opened it, sucking in a breath when he saw what was inside.

"Oh my God..." Carol whispered.

It was a storage closest...for weapons. There were rifles, pistols, knives and even grenades. It was like a small army store. Underneath the rows of weapons, were boxes marked MREs and canned foods. There was also some sleeping bags, pillows and toiletries; like toothbrushes, toothpaste and soap.

"What the hell is this place?" Daryl asked, closing the door. That was when he noticed something on the door they had walked through. There was not only one lock on it, but five. Heavy-duty ones, as well.

"The glass in the windows look thick," Carol said, noticing what Daryl had been staring at and decided to take a look around the cabin.

"Let's get the hell out of here. We can eat outside and head back. Who knows if we're even supposed to know this place exists."

"Good idea," Carol agreed and followed him outside. They took a seat on the ground and leaned their backs against the wall of the cabin. They ate in silence for awhile, but one thing ran through their minds.

Whoever had built the cabin and stocked it, seemed to be preparing for a war.

* * *

**Thanks for reading!**


	9. Chapter Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go! :) I hope you all have a wonderful Easter, if you celebrate it!

**Chapter Nine**

After their time for lunch came to an end, they made their way back to the station with the velociraptors, empty lunch boxes in hand. Surprisingly, they hadn't talked about what they found in the cabin as they ate. Both of them were still in shook at their discovery, but Carol knew that they would talk about it later. _Much_ later.

When they broke through the outer line of the forest, they were surprised to see a yellow jeep parked close to the security booth. Had Milton come back to tell them something else? Was it time to get back already? They hoped that was the case. They were so ready to get back and just relax the rest of the day away from the velociraptors.

A tall man stood in the doorway of the booth. Definitely _not_ Milton. When he saw Daryl and Carol, he walked forward with long strides. As he drew near, they saw that it was Phillip Blake.

"Fuck," Daryl hissed under his breath. "What the hell does he want?"

"Don't know," Carol said out of the corner of her mouth. "But he doesn't look that happy." It was weird to see the man not have a smarmy smile on his face. Now, his mouth was set in a thin line. He didn't look angry, just...unhappy.

"Where have you two been?" He asked when they were within earshot. "None of the cameras picked you up."

"We were eatin' our lunch," Daryl answered and held up his lunch box.

"Where?" Instead of looking at Daryl, he looked right at Carol, as if he knew she would be the one to break down to tell him the truth.

"Just a little ways in the woods," she said, trying desperately to not have her voice waver. "We found a nice little clearing and ate there."

Blake almost looked as if he didn't believe them but his face softened a little bit and finally, he smiled. "Well, then I hope you two enjoyed yourselves. Was eating _all_ you did?" He winked at Daryl, who blushed.

"We talked," said Carol, not noticing the wink. "That was it."

"You don't know how much it pleases me that you two are getting along so well. I was afraid that bringing on so many strangers to work together there would be conflict, but so far I have had none." He chuckled. "Knock on wood, right?" The two of them didn't say anything and just nodded in agreement, instead. Phillip Blake was making them a little uncomfortable, like he always did, and they were actually looking forward to working near the velociraptors, again.

"How are you doing so far?"

They both stopped sighs of annoyance from leaving their mouths. It was clear that Blake was there to talk with them a little longer. "Good," Carol spoke first. "I'm learning so much about the velociraptors and most of it is quite interesting." _And terrifying._

"That's good to hear, Carol. How about you, Daryl?"

"Ain't much to really say. The job is pretty straightforward. I like it."

"I think I know why you like it so much, Mr. Dixon." He winked, again. Daryl didn't say anything and avoided looking at Carol. What was this man's deal? It was as if he was trying to act like he was his dad, uncle, or something.

"I knew you would be well suited to it when I read your application."

Not knowing how to respond, Daryl nodded.

"Well, I better be off. I still have to visit everyone else." He gave them a final wave and strode back to his jeep. They watched him go and didn't say a word until his vehicle was out of sight.

"He's up to something," Carol was the first to speak. "Even if we hadn't found that cabin earlier, I still got that vibe from him."

"Me, too. We know some of what he's hiding, but we don't know why."

"I don't think we'll want to know why."

* * *

That night, dinner was alive with the chatter from everyone at the table. They were all eager to share their experiences of the day. Daryl even got into it, telling Glenn about when one of the raptors has been staring directly into one of the cameras.

"That's freaking scary!" Glenn had shuddered. "Luckily, Maggie and I are working with dinosaurs that prefer leaves to human flesh."

"They're kind of boring, though," Maggie added, briefly turning from the conversation she was having with T-Dog, who had been in the main building.

"Rather have boring than scary!" Carol jumped in, then turned to Daryl. "Looks like we have kindred spirits in Michonne, Tyreese and Sasha. They're with the T-Rex."

Daryl peered over Carol's head to look at Michonne, who despite not being the talkative type, had been carrying on a nice conversation with Carol. "Sorry about that."

"It's no big deal, as long as the large bastard stays in its cage."

"I hear you," he agreed. Michonne gave him a small smile and turned to Sasha, who had been trying to get her attention.

"I have to tell you something later," Carol whispered in Daryl's ear. "I think you'll find it _very_ interesting." Daryl's curiosity was piqued and he nodded, eager to find out what it was.

After Blake had left them, they had gone back to the security booth. Carol went back to reading her book and Daryl went back to watching the monitors and Carol. They had talked about the cabin a little bit. Both of them were paranoid that Blake had the booth wired so he could spy on them.

"Want to go to the rec room, again?" Glenn asked when the plates from dinner were cleared away.

"Why? You want to play _Twister_ , now?" Daryl teased causing the tips of Glenn's ears to redden.

"No, I was thinking maybe we could play _UNO_ later, but that isn't why I asked. I thought we could all talk, you know? Out of everyone here, Maggie and I like you and Carol the best."

"Aw, really?" Carol asked walking to Daryl's side. "I'm pretty sure Daryl and I like you two the best, too. Right?" She nudged Daryl with an elbow, who scowled down at her.

"Right," he finally said, causing Glenn to beam.

"Well, Maggie went to take a quick shower. So, how about we meet you there in...thirty minutes?"

"Sounds good," Carol said. Now, they would have a little time to talk before they joined their friends. Daryl thought it weird that he had people that he considered friends. Not that he was complaining. It was...nice. And then, he had Carol, who was friend, but he also wanted to be more.

"All right, see you then!" Glenn turned and jogged off.

"If he comes to the rec room with wet hair, we'll know Maggie wasn't the only one to get in the shower," Carol said and nudged him with an elbow again. Her face was teasing.

"So, your room or mine this time?" She asked as they started to walk toward their living quarters.

"Uh, mine." He had seen Shane, T-Dog and Tyreese head in the opposite direction of their apartment, so Daryl knew that it would be empty. Not that he was ashamed of having Carol come over, he just didn't want any of the guys to talk about it.

A few minutes later, Daryl was softly closing the door to his room and Carol had taken a seat on his bed. He hesitated only for a moment before he joined her. However, instead of sitting, he laid across the bed with his legs dangling over the side. The day had been long.

Carol giggled and joined him, but made sure there were several inches between them. "Do you want to hear my interesting news, now?"

"What do you think?" He turned his head to better look her way.

"No? All right, then. I guess I'll just keep it to myself. It was _really_ interesting."

"That's a yes," he growled and propped himself up on an elbow so he could look down at her. He couldn't help but notice how pretty she looked, lying across his bed with her auburn hair fanned around her head, blue eyes bright and cheeks flushed with excitement. He wanted to kiss her. Badly.

"Okay," she said excitingly and leaned up on her elbows. "At dinner, Michonne told me that someone had sent her katana. She came into her room and there it was on her bed."That _was_ interesting. It meant that he and Carol weren't the only ones finding weapons in their rooms. "She said that Tyreese found a hammer in his." Carol's face scrunched in confusion. "Why the hell did he get a hammer? What good would that do?"

"Don't know," he shrugged.

"Sasha got a _rifle_. At first, she thought it was some weird decor in her room, but there was a box of bullets by her bed."

"Blake is lucky we ain't a bunch of psychos and won't open fire on everybody."

"What do you think this means?" Carol's voice was small.

"I think you know..." Daryl brought his thumb up to his mouth and gnawed at the skin there.

"I _don_ _'_ _t_ want to think about that, Daryl. Phillip Blake can't be _that_ insane. I mean, the man is clearly creepy, but I really think he cares about the park and the dinosaurs here."

"You're right," he said after a moment. "Maybe we're just gettin' a little paranoid because them raptors freak us the fuck out."

"It doesn't mean we shouldn't be off our guard, though."

"Course not."

"Ugh." She flipped to her stomach and buried her face in his blankets. "Why did we take these jobs in the first place?"

"The money?"

"And I needed to get away from my mom," she peeked through the curtain of her disheveled hair. "If it was up to her, I'd be married and having babies, by now. She kept trying to push some asshole on me."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Ed Peletier."

"I know him...or of him. He went to our school, right?"

"Yep. And then, he followed me to college, too. The guy is a cocky, abusive asshole and I didn't want any part of him."

"Good." Daryl knew the guy in high school for the brief time he had been there and hadn't liked him. Just as Carol said, he had been a cocky bastard, thinking he was the shit because he was the star player of their baseball team, which hadn't said much because their team had sucked.

For the next twenty minutes, they talked easily with one another. Daryl never felt this at ease with someone, not even his own brother, whom he had known all his life. "You know how I said we should hang out the day we got back."

"Yeah?"

"I say we get ourselves a drink. We're definitely goin' to need it."

Carol propped up on an elbow and with the other hand, poked Daryl in the chest. "You trying to get me drunk, Dixon?"

He knew she was teasing, but decided to play along a little. "And if I am?"

She moved closer to him, so that she was leaning over his chest. Her hair brushed against it. A floral smell invaded his nose. "Well, then, I would have to tell you that you wouldn't have to get me drunk t-"

"Daryl! Carol!" Someone knocked on the door. "Ready to go?"

Carol sighed and plopped to her back while Daryl stood up. "I'm goin' to fuckin' kill him," he muttered before swinging open the door. Glenn stood there, hand raised to knock again.

"We're comin'," Daryl growled.

Glenn took a step back, slightly afraid. But then, his eyes flicked to something behind Daryl and he smiled. "Were you guys taking a nap? Sorry for interrupting you, then."

"No, we weren't napping," Carol said and stood next to Daryl. "We should have, though. For doing nothing but read a book about velociraptors, I'm exhausted."

"All we did was sit in a golf cart, drive around and read a book, as well. Honestly, it was boring. Though, Maggie and I did get to have a picnic by a lake while some large freaking dinosaur with a long neck were drinking."

"Brachiosaurus."

"Uh," He paused. "What?"

"That's what those long-necked dinosaurs are called," Daryl said. "Brachiosaurus." He looked down at Carol and winked. She hid a smile behind her hand, though it was no mistaking that she was grinning.

"Oh. Yeah. I knew that."

"Course you did," Daryl grinned and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder before walking past him and focusing his attention to Carol once more. It was like he couldn't keep it away from her for long.

Glenn watched them leave the apartment his grin getting wider and wider. "Oh, yeah," he said to himself. "They are _so_ getting together in a week."


	10. Chapter Ten

**Chapter Ten**

True to Glenn's word, he, Maggie, Carol and Daryl played a game of _UNO_. Carol, for once, hadn't won. Instead, the victor was Maggie, so the score was still zero for the men. A fact which the girls high-fived over. Once the game was finished and put away, they sat around the card table and talked. A few minutes into their conversation, one of the women, Lori, walked up to the table and asked if the four of them would like to join everyone on the couches.

"You guys seem to be keeping to yourselves," Lori said with a friendly smile. "Since we're going to be with each other for a while, I think we all should be better acquainted."

Daryl didn't want to have anything to do with the rest of them. He was perfectly happy with just talking with Carol, Glenn and Maggie. However, he got up when Carol did and followed her to a large sectioned couch. Everyone was sitting on the couch while Rick sat in the only armchair with Lori in his lap and Shane sat on the floor, back against the couch.

"I think we need ask Mr. Blake for another couch or something so we all aren't sitting on top of one another," T-Dog said as he slid over, pressing himself into Michonne's side, as they made room for the four new arrivals. Glenn sat down first and pulled Maggie into his lap, who giggled at the unexpected action. This gave Carol and Daryl some more room on the barely.

Daryl took a seat first. Carol bit her lip, looking a little unsure, before she took the seat next to him. She was practically plastered to his side, which he didn't mind. And to make himself comfortable, he took the arm that was stuck between their bodies and wrapped it around her shoulders. It was purely so that his arm wouldn't fall asleep.

Or, that's what he would tell anyone who asked.

"How do you all like your jobs so far?" Rick broke the silence and asked with his chin on Lori's shoulder. "Ours seems a little too easy. We're not complaining, though.

"Especially considering what we're getting paid!" Tyreese added with a hearty chuckle. "Hell, I'm working near a damn carnivorous beast that could eat me in one bite, but the pay is so good I'm willing to do it. I'd even brush its damn teeth!" There were murmurs of agreement from Sasha and Michonne.

"At least your jobs seem exciting," Lori said and leaned against Rick's chest. "We don't get to see a single dinosaur. Well, that is, if you don't count skeletons. Looking at the T-Rex one makes me feel lucky that I'm not working with it, though."

"As long as the thing stays where it's supposed to, we're good," Sasha said from where she sat between Tyreese and Andrea.

"How's working with the velociraptors?" Andrea leaned forward, her hand brushing against Shane's shoulder, as she looked at Carol and Daryl.

"It's...all right," Daryl answered slowly, not really liking talking in front of everyone like this. It was almost like high school all over, again and he was never good with standing in front of the class.

"Man, one of them wanted to eat Carol the other day!" T-Dog exclaimed.

 _Don't remind me,_ Daryl thought. Just thinking about that moment gave him the chills. If there hadn't been glass between them, then...

"Well, like Sasha said, if they stay where they're supposed to, we're good," Carol spoke up. "Though, I could do without having to witness their feeding hour." Everyone in the room shuddered from the memory of having to witness feeding the raptors once.

"Does that happen _everyday_?" Lori asked, eyes wide as she looked at Carol. The rest of them turned and looked at them the same way.

"We've only been there for one day, but I'm assuming so. The raptors have to eat," Carol answered.

" _Unfortunately,_ " Daryl mumbled, earning him a few chuckles from those sitting near him on the couch. Including Carol.

Rick moved to open his mouth, but was stopped when Phillip Blake made a smooth entrance into the room. They all startled at suddenly seeing their boss standing there. They had thought they wouldn't see him until the next day. "I am sorry to interrupt, everyone. There's something I forgot to bring up at dinner this morning."

"What is it?" Rick asked. Lori had moved from his lap to sit on the arm of the chair.

"You all have been here a few days and I bet you're dying to contact your love ones at home. Cellphones are useless here. We _do_ have some phones though that can get through to the states. The reception still isn't good and we don't use them very often but tonight, some of you can call home. The rest of you will be able to call home tomorrow."

Murmurs filled the room and Carol looked at Daryl, who was gnawing at his thumb. She wanted to ask who he would call, but Blake interrupted them once more.

"If you don't mind, I have already picked the first half who can call tonight. Michonne, Carol, Shane, Daryl, Tyreese and Sasha. You're up. Follow me, and I'll lead you to the phones."

Those whose names were said stood and followed Blake out the door. Behind them, T-Dog sighed in relief as he once more had more space on the couch. Daryl fell into step beside Carol, who was at the back of the group. He didn't want to be far from her. "You goin' to call your mom?"

"Yeah," she sighed, not sounding happy about it at all. "She's probably been dying to hear from me. Do you think we'll have a limit on how long we can talk?"

"No limit, Carol," Blake answered from the front of the group. "However, we do have only three phones, so be aware of anyone who is waiting."

"I'm going to tell her there's a limit," she whispered to Daryl, making sure that Blake couldn't hear her this time. "That way I can cut our conversation short. She'll probably want to know if I met my future husband, yet." She rolled her eyes.

"I could talk to her. Maybe that would get her off your ass." The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them and _fuck_ , he couldn't believe he had just said something like _that_.

Instead of teasing him, like was sure she would do, Carol just nudged him and winked. "I just might take you up on that offer. You can tell her of all the wild sex we're having, too and that she'll be a grandma soon." Though the word seemed to have been said in confidence, Carol's cheeks were red.

"Uh, _what?"_ Daryl nearly died right there.

"Of course, I'm just kidding," she said and winked again, clearly enjoying his discomfort.

* * *

"Hey, mom," Carol leaned against the wall, cradling the phone between her shoulder and cheek. Already, she was ready for the phone call to be over. She loved her mom, there was no doubt of that, but she could be a little...too much, sometimes.

"Hey, sweetie! I was wondering when you would call. It's been three days!"

Like that.

"Sorry, mom," she said, trying hard not to sound exasperated. "Today is the first time my boss said we could call home."

"I see. So. How are things going? Have you seen any dinosaurs, yet?"

"Things are going good and yes, I've seen the dinosaurs. They're bigger than you would think and I'm actually going to give tours of the velociraptors."

Her mom gasped on the other end. "Isn't that kind of dangerous?"

"Yeah, it is. Not as dangerous as working with the T-Rex, though."

"Those are the big ones, aren't they?"

"Yes, mom. They are." Carol only felt a little guilty for giving her mom the bare minimum of answers, but she knew it was only a matter of time before she asked abo-

"So. Have you met any interesting guys there, yet?"

* * *

"What I'd like to know is when is that paycheck comin', baby brother?"

Daryl sighed, regretting dialing his brother's number already, but he was the only he could call. There was no one else back home. "It's comin' soon. Be patient for fuck's sake. I've only been here for three days!"

"That's like fifteen hundred dollars, right?"

Daryl ran a hand down his face and leaned against the wall next to the phone cradle. "You actually calculated that? I can't even get you to figure out the damn tip for the pizza guy."

"What the hell am I supposed to do all day?"

"Get a job. I thought that was the damn plan. It would sure keep you busy." He knew how his brother would react to that and he knew that Merle saying he would get a job had been a bunch of bullshit.

"You see, that don't really appeal to me, little brother."

"Didn't think so," he sighed. "Look, I got a time limit here. All I wanted to do was check in and see how things were."

"Things are good. Gareth hasn't been around since I told him I'd get my debt squared away with him soon. Guess I won't be seein' you for a few more months, then."

"Nope, you won't. Bye, Merle."

"Bye, Daryl."

Daryl hung up the phone and sighed before walking out of the little room. Tyreese walked in after him and Daryl wondered if Carol was finished speaking with her mom, yet. When he didn't see her waiting out in the hall, he checked the room she had gone in and saw her with the phone pressed to her ear. She looked up at him standing in the doorway and rolled her eyes.

Daryl pointed to himself and held up his pinky and thumb to mime a phone, silently asking Carol if she wanted to speak with her mom, shocking him by offering. She smiled and shook her head.

The grin quickly vanished, though. "Mom!" She rolled her eyes and groaned, focusing back on her phone call. "It's my job, not a dating retreat." Pause. Another groan. "No! I don't want to hear what Ed's been up to." Pause. "Because I can't stand him!" Carol was clearly getting very annoyed and Daryl came up with a plan, which he knew he was crazy for even thinking of.

"Carol, sweetheart," he called louder than was needed. "You ready to head back to the room?" Carol gave him a wide-eyed look, confused. However, her mother must have said something on the other line that made everything click.

"Oh, that? That's Daryl. He's my...friend." Carol's face went beet red and she quickly turned her back on Daryl, confusing him. "Maybe, mom," she said in a low voice, almost a whisper. "Maybe."

* * *

Daryl slipped out of the room, face hot with embarrassment. In the room, he let Carol say her goodbyes to her mom privately. When she finally walked out, she surprised Daryl by giving him a hug. "Thanks for that, by the way," she said and pulled away.

"Thanks for what?"

"You know what. Now, my mom has stopped bugging me about Ed." She nudged him and wink. "Calling me sweetheart did the trick."

Daryl's face went hot, again. "Uh, that was the first thing that came to mind. Glad it worked."

"She thinks I have a man, now and she's super happy about it." Carol rolled her eyes. "So, bye-bye talk of Ed. Thank God."

Together, they walked in the direction of their rooms. "That's good, huh? Ed's a prick."

"He is," she agreed and looped her arm through his, surprising him. "And I much rather have my mom ask about you all the time, then tell me stuff about Ed. At least I care about you."

"U-Uh, well, I'm glad I could help, then." They reached the door to Carol's bedroom and her arm reluctantly slipped from his. She stood before him, biting her lip. Nervous.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow morning, then." She rocked forward on her toes and then, back on her heels.

"Yeah, bright and early for work," he gave her a shy smile.

"Goodnight, Daryl." She went up on her toes and kissed him on the cheek, dangerously close to his mouth. If he had the balls, he would have turned his head and captured her mouth was with his. However, his experience with kissing woman was nil and he knew he would have fucked it up if he tried.

"Night, Carol," he finally choked out as Carol went back to her heels.

_Goodnight, sweetheart._

* * *

Phillip Blake stood in the middle of his large bedroom in nothing but a pair of sweats. Trails of sweat slipped down his chest from the before bed workout he had just completed. The alarm clock beside his bed flipped from 11:59 to 12:00, marking the start of a new day. He smiled at the device and walked to the glass doors leading out to his balcony that overlooked the park.

The night air felt good on his heated flesh and his eyes went to the lights in the distance that marked where the velociraptor enclosure was located. "Just one more," he said into the night. "One more day and you all will be freed."


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Chapter Eleven**

_"Call me that, again, Daryl." Carol's fingers left a fiery trail down his bare chest. Her bare thigh was hitched up by his hips and his left hand was placed on the small of her back, where it fit perfectly. Just as he thought it would._

_"Sweetheart," he said and kissed the side of her head. Some of her auburn curls stuck to her sweaty forehead and he brushed them away with his other hand. He didn't want any of the strands to obscure his view of her clear, beautiful eyes._

_Carol's eyes drifted closed at the endearment and she hummed in happiness. "I love it," she purred and rolled until her whole front was flush against his chest. Pale pink shone through the window as the sun began to rise. At work, they would be dragging their feet since they had not slept at all, but it would be worth it._

_"Did you ever think we would end up like this?" Carol asked and sat up with her knees pressed on either side of him. Daryl sat up, too, shifting Carol a bit, causing her to gasp._

_"Never. But I hoped." He cupped the back of her head and pulled her forward to capture her mouth in a passionate kiss. The same type of kiss he had given her the night before as they stood outside the door to his apartment. Things had quickly escalated and soon, Carol was in his bed._ _Neither one had had sex before and they fumbled a bit. Things had been awkward too, the first time. But after that things had gotten better. So much better._

_"Think we have time to go again?" Carol leaned back and bit her lip. It had taken her a bit to feel this comfortable being naked in front of him. Daryl glanced at the clock and flipped them over in one fluid move._

_"I want to make you feel good, sweetheart." He trailed kissed up her neck, across her jaw and finally to her mouth._

_"Being with you will always feel good, Daryl."_

_Before things could go further, an inhuman scream caused them to freeze._

_They knew that scream._

_Behind them, the door burst from its hinges. Carol's mouth opened in a scream and-_

Daryl's eyes shot open and slammed a hand down on his screeching alarm clock. For once, he was glad for the alarm going off. There was no way he wanted to continue with that dream, though it had start off so well.

However, now, he had no idea on how he was going to face Carol when he saw her at breakfast. He just had a dream about her being naked.

"Fuck," he groaned and plopped back down on his bed. Today wasn't going to be a good day. Especially since he would have to start it off with a cold shower.

* * *

Daryl was one of the last ones to walk into the dining room, hair still damp from the shower. On the other side of the room, sitting by herself with her feet in the chair across from her, sat Carol. When she saw him in the doorway, she slid her feet from the chair and waved him over.

"Had to save you a seat," she said. "Shane and Tyreese both asked if they could sit here and I had to tell them that it was already reserved for you."

Shane and Tyreese, huh? Daryl looked around to find the two men in the room. They were sitting at a different table with Sasha and Michonne. Daryl made a mental note to keep an eye on those two when it came to Carol. Not that he had any claim on her, but- But, what? Growling, he shook his head and the thoughts away.

"Something wrong?" Carol asked, sliding a coffee cup full of coffee his way.

"Nah. Just tired." He wrapped his hands around the mug and brought it to his lips. The hot, bitter liquid felt good going down his throat and instantly helped clear his head a bit.

"I won't tell if you want to take a nap later while on duty." Carol winked.

"And leave you alone with the velociraptors? Hell no."

"You know, they are behind some pretty thick walls, right? I'll be fine." She stood from the table, chair scrapping across the floor. "Let's grab some food. I wanted to wait for you to eat, but I couldn't wait for coffee."

"Totally understandable." He got up and followed her to the buffet table. His stomach growled as he smelled the food and he worked on filling his plate. Carol was doing the same and started chatting happily with the Grimes couple, who had walked in after Daryl.

Someone nudged him in the shoulder, a move so unexpected he nearly dropped his plate. "Hey, Daryl!" It was Glenn, acting entirely too cheerful that early in the morning. "Did you sleep well?"

Memories of his dream came flooding to his mind and his face felt hot. "Fine," he mumbled and turned to the table to scoop more scrambled eggs onto his already almost overflowing plate. "You?" He needed to deflect the attention from him.

"Great!"

"Sounds like you got laid last night." Daryl paused, realizing what he had just said. "Wait. Don't respond to that. I don't want to know."

"I wasn't going to tell you, anyway." Glenn moved in front of Daryl and went to the tray that held the bacon and began to scoop pieces onto two plates. Glancing around, Daryl saw that Maggie was sitting at a two person table with just a cup of coffee in front of her.

"Someone's whipped," Daryl whispered to Glenn with a chuckle before going back to his table. Carol was already there, eating.

"Have a nice chat with Glenn?" She asked, nudging his shin with her foot underneath the table.

"I guess. Guy's too damn chipper this early in the morning."

Daryl tucked into his food while Carol did the same. The room hummed with the quiet conversations from the other people in the room. There was still a half hour before they were due to report to their stations, but the kitchen crew was already cleaning up the food. The men looked on mournfully as trays of sausage and bacon disappeared into the kitchen.

"Say goodbye to the kitchen crew, everyone," Blake stepped into the room, unannounced like usual. "They've been here, along with the men and women in the labs, for weeks before you all came. It's time they all have a vacation. They'll be gone for a few weeks."

"With all due respect," Tyreese spoke up. "But who will cook our meals?"

"Since I want this place to feel like a home to you all, I made sure there were kitchens in your apartments. So, you all can cook your own meals. You will have free reign of the pantry, of course." Blake pointed to large doors that had to have led to the pantry. "For lunch, Milton or I will prepare it for you."

The answer seemed to satisfy Tyreese and he went back to his breakfast. No one else seemed to be concerned with the fact that they would be responsible for their own meals for a while.

"Don't worry, Daryl." Carol slid a hand across the table and squeezed one of his hands. "I'll cook for you."

"Great," Daryl sighed. "I'm not that great of a cook. Just ask Merle. But I _am_ a better cook than he his."

"Well, don't worry. I _am_ a good cook. If I wasn't, my mother would starve."

"You said you're cooking, Carol? What's on the menu?" Glenn walked by and leaned close to them.

"Nothing for you." Daryl nudged him away. "And I didn't peg you as the nosy type."

"Oh, come on. Can I _please_ come over?" Gone was the teasing. Now, he looked serious and pleading. "Maggie tried to make me dinner one time and I was sick for a week!"

"Sorry, honey. Not tonight. Tonight, I'm just making a meal for two."

"Oh, I get it." Glenn stood up straight and gave her a mischievous grin. "You and Daryl are going on a date." He held up his hands and backed away. "Forgive me for trying to crash it." Before Daryl could strangle his friend, Glenn winked and hurried back to his table and Maggie.

Carol looked just embarrassed and seemed extremely interested in the rim of her coffee mug. Her finger continued to run around its edge as she bit her lip and turned red. "It...It could be a date. If you want it to be," she mumbled and met his eyes briefly.

"W-What?" Daryl said, shocked. Luckily, he had no food or drink in his mouth because he would have surely choked.

"You heard me," she whispered. "Look, if you don't want it to be I can just pretend I was kidding."

"N-No!" Daryl quickly said, not wanting her to take it back. He just hadn't expected that, especially so soon after they had met. But Daryl had to admit, he had been drawn to Carol the moment he had set his eyes on her. It made him happy to think that she had felt the same. "Uh. Sure. It's a date."

The smile that showed up on Carol's face was one of the biggest Daryl had seen from her. "Great. Is six okay?"

"Six is great." Daryl couldn't believe this was really happening.

"I would say we could watch a movie afterwards, but I don't know how you would feel about watching a movie in an apartment where there are three other women walking around."

They only knew one another for a few days and Carol already knew him so well. "Uh, yeah. That doesn't appeal to me very much, but if you want to do that, I'll be good." Honestly, with Carol by his side, Daryl didn't think that he would be able to focus on much else. Not even the movie.

"I have a laptop, well we all do, but anyways." She rambled and looked a little flustered. "We can watch a movie on it in the privacy of my room." Her cheeks turned pink. "If you want."

"Sounds good." He tried to ignore his beating heart as memories from his dream of the night before came flooding back. Luckily, his dream had taken place in his room and not hers. "Maybe after work, we can see if there's any popcorn in the pantry."

"That would be great!" Carol settled back in her chair, looking content. "Hopefully, the work day goes by quick, then. I can't wait for tonight." She moved to finish the rest of her meal.

"Me too."

* * *

There was no way Milton could leave the park, now. There was still so much paper work he needed to do and who would take care of the dinosaurs while he was gone? True, they had times sent for the raptors and T-Rex to be fed and the herbivores had plenty of greenery to eat. But, what if one of them got sick?

Now, he planned on hiding out in his room until all the planes left so that Phillip couldn't send him away. First, though, he needed to grab something from his office in the labs. All he needed to do was get past Jenner's office. Of course, as his luck would have it, his door was a jar and if Milton walked by, he would be spotted.

"How many does that make now?" Milton flattened himself against the wall when he heard the voice of Phillip Blake coming from the room.

"Four are in the enclosure and ten are here. They will need to be released soon before they turn on one another." Milton had know idea what they were talking about, but his curiosity was peeked. Instead of running back to his room to hide out, he stayed right there and continued to listen.

"Tomorrow, they will be released. Then, the fun will begin." Blake chuckled lowly. "I trust you will be there when I push the button, Edwin."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Something told Milton that he needed to leave, then, in risk of getting caught. The papers could wait a few more hours, anyway.

* * *

The day didn't go by as quickly as Carol hoped. This time, instead of hanging out with Daryl in the security booth most of her shift, she was required to walk around the enclosure. Phillip had written a list of things that needed to be done before the park opened and knowing the enclosure like the back of her hand had been on the list. She figured she would get that one out of the way as soon as possible.

Since they were going to be on a date later that night, Carol knew that staying away from Daryl for a bit would be a good thing. This way she wouldn't embarrass herself in front of him and make him rethink eating dinner with her.

When it was time for lunch, Phillip delivered it to them. Luckily, he had other meals to deliver and hadn't lingered long. Carol wanted to go into the woods to eat, like they had the day before. She wanted to visit the cabin, as well, hoping to get more answer as to its existence. But they didn't want to arouse Blake's suspicion, so they ate in the booth. Closing the door and covering the screens with paper, they could almost pretend that a poor cow wasn't being lowered into the enclosure as they took bites out of their sandwiches.

It was clear that the both of them were nervous for their date as conversation didn't come as easily as it always did. Carol wasn't worried, though. In fact, she expected it. Back home, she had gone on a few dates with random guys from school, but they hadn't been serious. She could count the number of times she had been kissed with one hand and still have fingers left over. It wasn't that she was hardly asked on dates, she was, it was just that she had never been interested in going out with the guys that asked.

Especially Ed Peletier.

It was time to get back to work sooner than Carol was ready and she gathered their garbage to throw away. "Another four hours of extreme boredness," she sighed and picked up the book about velociraptors. She had taken to reading it as she walked around the enclosure. Multi-tasking.

"At least you get to be outside," Daryl grumbled and moved to remove all the papers on the screens. If Blake found out they had done that, they knew he wouldn't have been very happy.

"Come on out, then," she said. "You can quiz me."

"I don't know anything about the raptors."

Carol flipped to a page and placed it on the desk. "I kid you not, but there are _actual_ quizzes in this book."

"All right, give me a little bit. I need to make sure these fuckers aren't plannin' to dig a tunnel out of there or somethin'."

"Got it," she laughed and left the booth.

Few minutes later, Daryl joined Carol on the upper level of the enclosure. From there, they could only see the tops of trees and other vegetation. "At least you can't see those fuckers," Daryl said and leaned his forearms against the railing. Why there was even a railing to look at some vegetation, they would never know.

"That's why I'm up here." She thrust the book in his hands and then, sat cross-legged on the ground. Daryl followed and opened the book to the page Carol had marked.

"All right. I can't believe there's an actual quiz in here." Over the book, he gave her a smile. "Okay. Question one..."


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Chapter Twelve**

At five-thirty, Carol and Daryl made it back to the main building. Both were in need of showers before their date, but Daryl wanted to help Carol pick things out of the pantry for their meal. After all, she was going to be the one who did all the cooking.

"Hmm." Carol tapped her chin as she looked around at the well-stocked pantry. Any type of food imaginable could be found and there was even a door leading into a freezer where the meat and other refrigerated items were kept.

"Hmm." Daryl mirrored.

Carol turned to him. "What sounds good?"

He shrugged. "Anything you cook up sounds good."

"Okay. How about I just close my eyes and pick? You can go into the freezer and pick the type of meat you would like. If that's okay."

"Sure." He shrugged again. "Doubt they have any squirrel or triceratops, though." Carol laughed as he walked by and opened the door for the freezer. Daryl smiled, glad that he was able to make her laugh. Especially since it had been clear that she had been nervous earlier.

"Beef or chicken is fine!" She called as he stepped into the freezer. His arms immediately felt the chill of the freezer and his breath ghosted in front of his face.

Quickly he scanned the room, surprised at all that was in there. Various meets, frozen vegetables, microwave meals and ice cream. He grabbed a package of ground beef, thinking that there had to be a few things Carol could make with the meat, and then grabbed a carton of Rocky Road ice cream.

"How does spaghetti sound?" Carol turned around just as he stepped from the freezer, a package of noodles in one hand and sauce in the other.

"Great," he answered. "I got the ground beef. And ice cream!" Her eyes lit up when they saw the desert.

"Perfect! That's my favorite ice cream!"

"Really? Lucky choice, then."

"I'm tempted to just say skip dinner and we can just go straight through to desert." Carol nodded her thanks when Daryl opened the pantry door for her as they exited. Together, they walked up to their apartments.

On the way, they passed the rec room and Carol peeked in. "Everyone's in there, except for Glenn and Maggie and they have pizza! Where did they get pizza?" She turned to Daryl.

"They had frozen pizzas in the freezer. They took the easy route and just slipped one of them into their ovens."

"Looks like we'll be the only ones eatin' well tonight."

"No, Glenn and Mag-Oh." She remembered what Glenn had told him earlier that morning and laughed a little. According to Glenn, Maggie wasn't a very good cook. Hopefully, she was a decent one for Daryl's sake. She knew how to cook but didn't do it very often. Though, she knew she was a way better cook than her mother, who tended to overcook or under cook anything she made.

They walked into Carol's apartment and deposited the food stuff on the table and Daryl put the ice cream in the freezer. "Uh, do you mind if I go shower and change?"

"No, course not. I was planning on doing the same. Besides, it's not even six, yet, so we still have some time." She smiled.

"All right. I'll be quick. See you in a few."

* * *

Clothes were flung all over his room and Daryl growled in frustration. He had absolutely nothing suitable to wear on a date. Not that he had ever thought he'd go on while he was there. All of his pants had some kind of hole in them and most of his shirts were sleeveless. And there was no one he could borrow clothes from, if he had ever gotten the nerve to ask. T-Dog and Tyreese were too big, Glenn too small and Shane and Rick didn't have his shoulders.

"Fuck," he hissed and picked up the nicest shirt he had. A worn blue plaid shirt that still had its sleeves. Next, he picked up a pair of jeans that only had a small hole in the knee. Daryl knew he would have to make do with what he had; he just hoped Carol didn't mind.

Five minutes before six, Daryl knocked on Carol's door wishing, not for the first time, that he had some flowers to give. This was probably going to be the worst date Carol would go on. He sighed in resignation.

When Carol opened the door, she was almost dressed in the same thing she had worn that morning except the blouse was a little dressier and blue. The same as her eyes. "I didn't have any clothes packed that would be considered date clothes," she admitted with a blush.

"Same here. Hope this is okay." He held up his arms for inspection.

"It's perfect." She smiled, looking him over. "Come in. I just started to fry the meat, so dinner won't be for a little bit. I hope that's okay."

"It's fine," he said and followed Carol to the kitchen. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Nope. Just sit there and look pretty."

"Ain't that what you're supposed to do?" The words came quickly to his mind, surprising him. He thought for sure he would be a bumbling mess for the rest of the night.

"How about I stand here and look pretty, then?" Turning from the stove, she cocked a hip and winked. Daryl chuckled and pulled out one of the chairs to sit in. He watched as she poured the box of noodles into a pot of boiling water and then, poured the sauce into the now drained meat.

"I'm glad spaghetti doesn't take long to make," she said over her shoulder as she stirred. "And its one of the few things, I know I can make good. I promise you won't be like Glenn and get sick for a week once we're done eating."

"Well, that's a relief," he teased.

"Should have grabbed some garlic bread," she said and then, paused. "Wait. Uh, never mind." The last part was mumbled and Daryl could barely hear. However, he did understand what she meant by that and his face flamed.

Things fell into a silence, then. Daryl gnawed on his thumb and Carol continued to fix the meal. When it was time to put the food on the table, Daryl got up and helped put the sauce into a bowl while Carol did the same with the noodles.

"Before I took a shower, I made a thing of iced tea. Is that fine?" It was clear that Carol was making every effort to make this night perfect.

"That's perfect," he answered and went to the fridge to retrieve it. He poured two glasses full before putting the jug back in the fridge. "Should you put your name on it so that no one else drinks it?" He smiled, knowing that she shared all the appliances with three other women.

"They can have it, if we don't drink it all. They can also have the leftovers of this, if we don't eat it all, too. Though leftover spaghetti is the best. I may just have to hoard it."

"Never had left over spaghetti," Daryl admitted. He couldn't even remember the last time he had the pasta dish.

"Really? Well, tomorrow night you're coming over and we'll have leftovers. It could be another date." She blushed. "If this one goes well...which I'm pretty sure it well."

"Knock on wood." Daryl knocked on the table and smiled at her. Carol did the same and then started to pile a plateful of noodles on his plate and passed the large fork to Daryl, who was still eyeing her plate.

"What?" She protested. "I'm hungry!"

"There's nothing wrong with that." Daryl filled his own plate and spooned sauce over them. Carol waited and watched as he took his first bite.

"Good?" She asked once he swallowed.

"Amazing," he answered.

Smiling, she rolled her eyes. "You're just saying that."

"No. Really. It's the best spaghetti I've ever had." He took another large bite and finally, Carol took a bite of her own.

* * *

Daryl scrubbed at the dishes in the sink and after rinsing them off, he handed them to Carol who dried and put them away. The meal had gone perfectly and he hadn't been awkward at all and Carol seemed to be enjoying herself as they talked, which was a huge relief.

"After we're done here, we can scoop some ice cream and head to my room." She paused in drying the plate in her hand and blushed. "To watch a movie," she added and quickly put the plate away without looking in his direction.

Daryl had known what she meant at first and decided not to tease her about it. Of the two, she seemed the most nervous. Actually, the only one who seemed nervous. Surprisingly.

Once the last dish was dried and put away, Daryl grabbed the carton of ice cream and two bowls. "Why don't you set up your computer and I'll get desert?"

Carol wiped her hands on her pants. "All right. I'll warn you, though, the selection of movies was thin so I've never heard of the movie I grabbed. Hope it was a good one." She left the kitchen with one last backward smile at Daryl and entered her room.

Daryl quickly scooped ice cream in the bowls. However, as he walked to the bedroom, he felt his palms began to sweat. This wasn't the first time they had been in a bedroom together, but this was the first time they did so on a date.

Carol was propping her pillows against the headboard and her laptop was sitting on the edge of the bed. "Oh. Can you turn off the lights?" With his elbow, he did and the room was illuminated by a lamp beside the bed. He closed the door with his foot, making sure that they would be left alone if the other three women decided to come back to the apartment while they were watching the movie.

"Ready?" She asked and took a seat.

"Yeah. Here." He handed her a bowl and took a seat next to her. Their shoulders brushed.

Carol set aside her ice cream and placed the laptop in her lap. "There, now we can see it better. Ready to hit play?"

"Go ahead." Carol hit play and shut the remaining light off.

* * *

The movie was good, or at least from what Carol was paying attention too, which wasn't much. Her mind was too preoccupied on the man sitting next to her on the bed. They had finished their ice cream and placed the empty bowls on the night tables on either side of the bed. From the corner of her eye, Carol could see that Daryl's hands were fidgeting in his lap, like he didn't know what to do with them. Carol wanted to grab one of them to hold, but knew she wasn't that brave.

The computer was growing warm on her legs and she moved to shift it a little lower on them. Daryl placed a hand on hers. "I can keep it on my lap, if you want."

"Uh, okay." Using both hands, she picked it up and placed it on his legs. The move gave her an idea and once the device was settled, she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"So, I can see better," she whispered, knowing full well she could see perfectly fine where she had been before.

"It's fine." In the glow from the screen, Carol saw that his cheeks were slightly red. She pushed down a smile and went back to watching the movie, determined to watch it to the end with no more distractions.

However, that plan quickly went out the window when Daryl shifted a little in his seat before lifting an arm, a little awkwardly, and placed it over her shoulders. Carol snuggled closer to his side, glad that he didn't do the typical yawn thing she had seen many guys do at the movie theaters.

"This okay?" He asked, looking nervous.

"It's perfect." She smiled brightly. Extremely happy.

* * *

Credits rolled and Carol popped the DVD from the player while Daryl gathered their empty bowls to put in the sink. "Honestly," she said, walking out into the living room. "I have no idea what that movie was about." Luckily, Sasha, Michonne and Andrea hadn't returned from the rec room and if they had, they were in their rooms.

"Same," Daryl said over his shoulder as he washed the bowls. Carol picked up the towel and was ready to dry.

"Next time, you pick the movie. Okay?"

"Got it and I'll cook the meal, too." He nudged her with his hip. "Hope you like cereal."

"Depends on the cereal," Carol played along. Quickly, she dried the two bowls and went up on her tiptoes to put them away. Two damp hands encircled her waist and once Carol was safely on the flat of her feet, she turned to see Daryl close.

"Hey," he said, voice low and eyes boring into hers.

"Hi." Her heart started to beat faster, realizing that he was the closest he had ever been.

Daryl stood still for a few minutes and Carol scrunched up her brows, wondering what he was doing. He didn't look nervous. "Daryl?" She tilted her head with the question/\\.

"Sorry. Just making sure no one walks in on us right before I do this. It would be just my luck if they did." One side of his mouth quirked up in a smile.

"Do what?"

Daryl leaned down and placed a kiss on Carol's mouth. This was the first time he had ever kissed a woman, but kissing Carol seemed so natural. Before he knew it, her hand was in his hair and she was pulling him closer. He wrapped both arms around her waist and practically smashed her to his chest. Carol didn't seem to mind and pulled his head closer, as well.

However, seconds later, Daryl heard a noise from behind him and took a step away from Carol just as the door opened and Michonne, Andrea and Sasha walked in. They spotted the couple in the kitchen, waved and took seats on the couch in the living room.

"At least I got to kiss you first," he mumbled, bummed that he couldn't keep kissing Carol. But he was glad that he had taken that step and from the way Carol had reacted to the kiss, he knew it wouldn't be the last one they shared. The thought almost made him giddy.

"Daryl, Carol. Do you want to join us?"

"No, that's okay." Carol stepped around Daryl. "I was just going to walk Daryl back to his place and then go to bed. It's been a long day."

"At least she'll be coming back," Andrea snickered and elbowed Michonne in the side. The normally straight faced woman cracked a smile and so did Sasha. Carol rolled her eyes, knowing they were only kidding.

"It isn't for lack of tryin'," Daryl surprised them all by saying and stepping back around Carol, grabbing her hand along the way. Carol allowed herself to be pulled along on their way to the hallway.

"What was that?" Carol laughed and nudged him with her elbow. Their hands were still clasped together and neither one wanted to let go.

Daryl shrugged and looked away. "I don't even know. Honestly."

"I liked it." They stopped in front of his door and Carol stepped in front of him. "Are you going to kiss me, again?"

Daryl let go of her hand to cup her cheeks, like he had seen in a movie or two, and pressed another kiss to her mouth. The next seven months just got a hell of a lot better.

* * *

The smile never left Daryl's face, not even when he laid his head down on his pillow to go to sleep. The events of that night had gone perfectly. Carol had seemed to enjoy herself and he had actually manned up to kiss her.

However, just as he thought nothing could get any better, trepidation trickled into his mind. So, were they together now? What did that mean? Would they just keep doing what they've been doing? Which was fine to him. It wasn't what had him worried. What if things didn't work out between them? Just thinking that made Daryl feel sick to his stomach.

What would they for sleeping arrangements? He cringed just thinking about that, they had only kissed today and where no where near ready for _that_ , yet. But he would love to sleep with her by his side.

Finally, he had to will his mind to shut down so he could get some sleep. Otherwise, thoughts of Carol would keep him up all night and he had feeling that he would need all the rest he could get before tomorrow.

* * *

Phillip Blake couldn't sleep. He was so excited for tomorrow. Jenner had assured them that the raptors were ready for release and had gone the last few days without food, so they would be starving when they were let out.

After their release, he and Jenner would hole up in the main building. Most of the doors were made of steel and they would be safe from the raptors. However, they doubted the dinosaurs would return to their place of capture. They would want to remain free and roam the island. As they did so, he and Jenner would watch the activities on the island from the multiple security camera they had spread out on the island like it was a reality TV show.

He couldn't wait.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Chapter Thirteen**

Daryl woke up when he heard his other roommates moving around in the living room. Someone knocked on his door, "Daryl?" It was Tyreese. "Blake just stopped by." Daryl climbed out of the bed, so he didn't have to talk with Tyreese through the door and opened it.

"Yeah?" He asked. "What did he want?"

"Said we had the day off, but wanted us to take our weapons out to shoot them." The big man got a confused look on his face. "I didn't even know we had weapons. And why do we need to practice shooting them? All I have is a damn hammer." With a shake of his head, Tyreese stepped away from the door to join the others in the living room.

Daryl closed the door and quickly got dressed. Before he rushed out of the room, he grabbed his crossbow and slung it across his back. The weight felt familiar. But the twisting feeling in his gut didn't. He needed to speak with Carol to see if Blake had the same message for the women and couples, as well.

As he walked through the apartment, he over heard Tyreese complaining about his hammer as T-Dog showed him the handgun he had found in his room. Daryl couldn't help but let a small smile seep through his bad feelings.

When he knocked on Carol's door, Andrea was the one to answer. On top of the blonde woman's head sat a tan cowboy hat and in the waistband of her tight jeans, was a gun. Behind Andrea, in the living room, Sasha and Michonne were cleaning their respective weapons. Michonne a katana and Sasha a sniper rifle. None of them the least bit bothered at the fact they were asked to have them today.

"Are you here to see Carol?" Andrea asked, cocking a hip and leaned against the doorway. Her pale green eyes racked over his form and Daryl felt a little uncomfortable under the clearly flirtatious gaze.

"Uh, yes." _Who else would I be here for?_ He chose not to say those words and stepped around Andrea when she finally let him in.

"She's been in her room most of the morning. I don't know what she is doing in there, though." Andrea followed him to Carol's door and he tried not to groan in annoyance. "I've been wondering what kind of weapon she has hiding."

"It's a knife. I already told you," Michonne answered from the couch. "Now, get over here and sit before Daryl throws you out of his way."

"Daryl wouldn't do that." She looked up at him and batted her eye lashes. "Would you?"

He shrugged. "Reckon you don't know me that well to want to find out." With that Andrea huffed and walked away. Daryl reminded himself to thank Michonne later. Now, he needed to see why Carol was cooped up in her room.

"Carol?" He knocked on the door. "It's me."

"Daryl," her voice sounded far away. "Come in." Daryl opened the door and slipped inside. Carol was sitting on her bed, knees pulled to her chest. The knife she had found only a few days before was on the night table beside the bed.

Daryl put his bow by the door and sat by Carol on the bed. Carol turned her body and buried her head in his chest. "I don't feel good," she said, words muffled in his shirt.

"You want me to get you some soup or somethin?"

"It's not that kind of sick. I just have this feeling in my stomach...and I don't want to leave this room. Especially now that you're here." Daryl understood the feeling, he was feeling the same way. Something was going to happen today. Something bad.

"We can't stay here. Even though, I want to." He kissed her temple and pulled her close.

"Just promise you'll stay close, okay? Even if Blake says he wants you to have target practice on your own, you take me with."

"I can do that and I _will_ do that."

"Good." Carol snuggled even closer to him. Daryl wished that they could spend their day off like this, but unfortunately Blake had some stupid thing they all had to do.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Michonne was knocking the door and telling them that they needed to get going. Daryl reluctantly untangled himself from Carol and retrieved his bow. Carol slipped her knife in a sheath on her pants. She gave him a smile before walking out the door to meet with everyone in the lobby.

Glenn and Maggie walked up to them. Glenn had a riot gear helmet on his head and a handgun on his waist. Both he and Maggie, also, wore a vest that must have been part of the gear and Maggie had a rifle strapped to her back. "Blake said that we needed to be in groups of four, so we're picking you two to be with us," Glenn said, coming to a stop in front of them.

"Perfect," Carol smiled and slipped an arm through Daryl's. Out of everyone there, she was glad that Maggie and Glenn would be with them. They had grown the closest in the few days they had known one another and Carol felt like they would remain good friends when this was all over.

"Do you have any idea of what is going on?" Maggie asked. "All I know was that we were told to get the weapons found in our room, along with any other gear."

"You two got riot gear, huh?" Daryl looked them over. "What good is that goin' to do?"

Glenn shrugged. "Don't know. I don't see why we even need weapons in the first place. Even if the dinosaurs were to get out of their pens," all four of them shuddered at the thought. "What good would they be against a T-Rex?"

"Maybe this is just a way for all of us to let off a little steam," Maggie suggested. "We've been cooped up for a few days with only dinosaurs as company. Maybe Blake realizes we need some exercise."

"Wouldn't a game of football or soccer do? It isn't like there isn't enough space to have game," Glenn said.

"Man, I don't even pretend to know what goes through that guys head," Daryl muttered. "It's like we're his pawns in some kind of game. But as long as we get paid and not get eaten, I guess I can tolerate it." Carol, Glenn and Maggie murmured their agreements.

"All right, everyone!" Phillip Blake stood in front of them with a large smile. However, it looked different today. It looked more...maniacal. The quiet murmurs of conversation ceased and everyone gathered closer to Blake so he wouldn't have to shout to be heard.

"Each of you should be in groups of four, correct?" They all nodded and he continued, "Behind me are the jeeps that will take you to the shooting ranges on the other side of the island. There are three, so you won't be crowded."

"What the hell am I going to shoot?" Tyreese whispered to Sasha. They were standing in front of Carol and Daryl. "All I have is a damn hammer." Carol and Michonne were in the same boat since one had a knife and the other a sword.

Blake spoke on, not hearing Tyreese's complaints. "You will be spending all day out there. Your lunches have been packed and stored in the jeeps. Dr. Jenner and I will be responsible for your meal when you get back." There a crazy gleam in his eye, now. But Daryl seemed to be the only one who noticed. "And it will be a feast!"

After that, they all piled into the jeeps. Blake got behind the wheel in one and Edwin in another, leaving one jeep without a driver. "Rick, you'll be the driver of that jeep," Blake said. "There's a GPS in your jeep that will show you the way."

Rick looked slightly confused for a moment before shrugging and climbing into the jeep. Along with Lori, Shane and Andrea. Daryl, Carol, Glenn and Maggie got in the jeep with Phillip and the rest were with Edwin. Few minutes later, they were off, all going in three different directions.

* * *

The drive was surprisingly long. Twenty-five minutes later, Blake pulled up a large grassy area. In the distance, they saw the mountains that surrounded most of the island. Daryl had no idea where they were since the way had taken so many twists and turns.

"Here you go." Blake parked the jeep and allowed everyone to exit. Poor Glenn, who had been the one to sit in the front of the jeep, was the first to climb out. Phillip Blake gave him the creeps, like he did everyone else in the group.

"The ranges are out there," he explained and pointed to targets in the distance. "Oh, and take this." He handed Carol a walkie talkie. "Just in case something happens and you need to contact the main building before we come get you." Carol clipped the radio to her belt and nodded.

"All right, be careful out there and," he looked directly at Daryl and winked. "Good luck."

* * *

Half hour later, Phillip Blake was pulling up in front of the main building just as Edwin Jenner was doing the same. He could barely control his glee as he stepped from the vehicle to meet his colleague. _Now_ was the time. Everyone was in their positions.

"Should we start making bets now, Blake?" Jenner asked with a smug smile. Together, they were climbing the steps to the front door.

"Of course. My bet is that Daryl will survive, along with Carol. He won't let her out of his sight to die. You?" He held open the door for him and they walked through the lobby to the almost hidden door that would lead them to the labs.

"Rick seems plenty capable. I want to say Shane, too. But there is something about the man that doesn't make me confident in him. Rick is my choice and also, Lori, for the same reason why you said Carol."

"I don't think they will be the only survivors, though. Just the top ones."

In Jenner's office, there was what looked like a control panel in the corner. Above the panel were three monitors. The numerous buttons and blinking lights could have fooled anyone, but only three buttons worked. The buttons that would release the carnivores into the wild.

"Would you like to do the honors of releasing them, Blake?"

Before the man could answer, he thought he heard a noise, like a gasp, and turned around to see that no one was there. Shrugging, he stepped towards the panel and using three of his fingers, he hit all of the buttons at the same time. On the monitors, it was shown that the raptor and T-Rex enclosure's door opened. The four raptors raced out immediately while the T-Rex wasn't anywhere to be seen yet. The other button opened up a large area in the main building that was housing ten starving raptors. They were out like bolts, as well.

Jenner and Blake watched the screens with glee. Behind them, Milton looked on in absolute horror.

* * *

Carol stood off to the side, impressed. Daryl had just shot five bolts from his crossbow. Each one had hit the middle of the target. "Wow," she said. "That's quite impressive." She giggled into her hand when Daryl puffed out his chest slightly.

Meanwhile, Glenn and Maggie were struggling to even hit the target. Glenn had taken to wearing the helmet as he tried to shoot, which hadn't helped things. Maggie had shot a rifle before, but the bulky vest continued to get in the way.

"This sucks," Glenn complained.

"I agree!" Maggie seconded.

"At least you get to shoot something," Carol pouted and held up her little knife. "The only use I have of these targets is if I go up to stab them." Daryl opened his mouth, but Carol stopped him with a finger. "And no, I will not be doing that. I am not looking like an idiot in front of you all." She glared at Daryl briefly before looking back at her two other friends.

Glenn was ready to retort when a large buzzing sound had them all freezing. The noise echoed all around them and rang in their years. "What is that?" Daryl yelled over the sound.

"Don't know!" Glenn answered, covering his ears. "Sounds like an alarm."

They all froze once more. Carol looked to Daryl, eyes wide in panic. "Oh no..." she breathed. There was only one reason an alarm that loud and obnoxious would sound.

"They're out," Daryl said in disbelief, looking at Carol. "The fucking dinosaurs are out."


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Chapter Fourteen**

The color in Carol's face drained and she reached for the walkie at her hip. "Mr. Blake?" She said into the device, deep down knowing no one would answer. "Please, someone answer!" All they got was static. Carol's hand fell limply to her side with the radio still in her hand. She looked at Daryl for a brief moment before turning to her friends, Glenn and Maggie.

"What are we going to do now?" Maggie moved to her boyfriend's side and wrapped her arms around him. Glenn looked seconds away from having a panic attack.

"I don't know!" Daryl ran a hand through his hair and took a quick scan of their surroundings. "I don't even know where we are right now. Blake took too many twists and turns for me to figure that out."

"It was all part of his plan...wasn't it?" Carol's voice was soft, quiet, but they all heard.

"I don't know," Daryl answered. "But if it was. I'm goin' to kill him."

"We'll help," Maggie added fiercely.

"But first, we should be probably decide what we're going to do," Glenn broke away from Maggie and the four huddled closer. "At least we have weapons." His eyes zeroed on Carol's knife. "Sort of."

"Carol's goin' to stay near me." Daryl wrapped an arm around Carol and pulled her close. "A knife isn't goin' to do much good against a dinosaur."

"None of our weapons are going to be much good if we run into the T-Rex," Glenn said.

"Well, it's big enough. Hopefully, we'll hear it coming before it sees us and we'll go the other way," Carol added.

"And where, exactly, should we head?" Maggie asked.

"I bet that coward, Blake, is holed up back at the main building," Daryl answered in almost a growl. "I say we head that way. If anythin', there's a phone there, so hopefully we can connect to the outside world somehow." Daryl hated to think about how right Merle had been. This place had been too good to be true. Now, he was probably going to be eaten by a damn dinosaur before his brother could run it in.

Carol looked thoughtful for a moment. "Daryl, do you remember that cabin we found?"

"Cabin?" Glenn looked between the two of them. "You and Daryl snuck off and found a cabin?" If they hadn't been in their current situation, Glenn would have turned that around into some kind of joke and everyone would laugh while Daryl turned red.

"Yeah, during lunch, Carol and I found this cabin in the woods. The place was full of canned food and weapons."

"What? Why would there need to be a place like that in a place that supposedly super clear," Glenn said, confused.

"That's why I think Blake planned this whole thing," Carol spoke up, hands clenched into fists at her sides. "Honestly, I always thought he had a creepy fascination with the velociraptors. They were his favorite."

"I don't understand why the guy would be put millions of dollars into a place meant for an attraction and then let them out."

"I don't think he ever met to open the place to the public," Daryl said.

In the distance, they heard a scream echo around the mountain. It was an inhuman scream. Carol and Daryl knew exactly _what_ dinosaur made that noise. They had heard several times before. Especially when it was feeding time.

"We need to start moving!" Carol said urgently. "I don't know where, but we can't be in the open. We're easy targets."

"Couldn't agree with you more," Maggie said. Together, all four of them took off toward the forest, hoping that the trees would hide them somewhat from any carnivore now roaming the island freely.

* * *

Over the shots of their guns, Rick and Shane heard the loud blaring noise of the alarm. Andrea and Lori had decided to take a break from target practice and were now standing in the shadow of the jeep to talk quietly with one another.

"What the hell is that?" Shane lowered his gun and looked at his longtime friend.

"Don't know. Sounds like an alarm."

"Should we head back and see what's going on?"

"That sounds like the best idea." Rick holstered his gun, Shane did the same and they joined the ladies at the jeep. They looked concerned about the noise and didn't protest when they were told to get in the vehicle.

When they got closer to the park, they expected things to be on fire but everything seemed to be oddly calm. Something was right. Rick felt it in his gut and looking at Shane, he knew that his friend felt the same.

"What was that?" Andrea cried pointing at something out the window. They were on a road that had trees on either side.

"What?" Lori leaned over Andrea in her seat. "I don't see anything."

"It might just be my eyes playing tricks on me." She rubbed said eyes. "But I think I may have just seen a velociraptor in the trees."

Shane turned around in the seat. "I really think it was just your eyes, Andrea." At that moment, Rick slammed on the brakes. Andrea and Lori went flying into the backs of the front seats while their seatbelts prevented Shane and Rick from going through the windshield.

Standing about twenty feet in front of them were three velociraptors. They spotted the jeep and their intelligent eyes roamed over the vehicle and the four people who were in it.

"Get us out of here," Lori whispered to Rick.

Rick put the jeep in rear, careful to not make any sudden movements and pressed on the gas. The raptors noticed and lunged. Andrea and Lori screamed.

* * *

"What was that?" Sasha looked behind her to her brother. Once they had heard the alarms, the four of them had started to move toward the main building, hoping that Blake would explain what was going on. The alarms had stopped a few minutes before leaving behind an eerie silence.

"What? I don't hear anything." Tyreese had his hammer clutched in one hand not knowing what the hell he would do with it.

"No, it wasn't something I heard. It was som-" Just then, the ground shook. They all stopped and looked around.

"That is what I meant," Sasha hissed.

Somewhere behind them, the trees rustled. Michonne went for the sword strapped to her back. T-Dog and Sasha went for their guns. Tyreese held his stupid hammer. "What the hell is it?" T-Dog asked.

A large muzzle full of teeth emerged from the trees. Sasha, Michonne and Tyreese knew that jaw anywhere. "Run!" Michonne cried just as the T-Rex stepped into the clearing.

* * *

Milton had no idea what to do. The dinosaurs were loose on the park and there were people out there. Jenner and Blake had planned this all along and Milton felt sick to his stomach that he had worked so closely with the sadists. Some of those people out there may get killed and they were making _bets_ on who would survive.

He ran to his office and closed the door behind him. Turning the lock, he finally allowed himself to breathe and sink to the floor. Maybe he should have gotten on the plane and left this place. But maybe it was fate. He was the only one in the building at the moment who wanted everyone out there to live. Maybe there was someway he could help them. Though, he didn't know how. How could he go against freaking dinosaurs? They would take one look at his mousy self and eat him.

Gulping, he stood up and went to his desk. There was a map of the park on the corner and Milton slid it in front of him. Each exhibit was marked along with security booths, electrical stations and random boxes marked in the woods. He narrowed his eyes at those. What did those boxes represent?

The only way he would be able to find out was if he were to ask Blake and Jenner and there was no way he was going to do that. After all, he was supposed to be on a plane heading home and not here. For all he knew, if they were to find out he was still there, they might throw him outside and place bets on how long he would survive.

Milton shuddered and rolled up the map. He would look over it in the safety of his apartment. Hopefully, no one would go in there it being his personal space and all. He also grabbed a few of his notebooks before opening the door.

Checking both ways in the hallway, Milton stepped out and began to tiptoe. Blake and Jenner could still be heard talking and if Milton didn't know what was really going on, he would have thought they were watching a football game or something.

"Look, there goes the T-Rex!" Blake said, his voice giving away his excitement. "I think he saw Michonne. Now, he's chasing them!"

"We got three raptors over here chasing the jeep that has Rick and company in it," Jenner pointed out. Milton peeked around the corner to see the man pointing to another monitor. He stifled gasp when he saw the raptors chasing the jeep.

"Where's Daryl?" Blake asked, searching the screens.

"Last time I looked, they were running into the woods," Jenner answered. "Unfortunately, we don't have surveillance where they are at the moment."

"Damn." Blake sounded like he was _pouting._ "He better not get eaten where I can't see him!"

Using the opportunity of them being absorbed in the monitors, Milton snuck by the open door and practically ran to his rooms. Chest heaving, he finally closed the door to his apartment and leaned against the wood. The papers were still clenched in his hands, though now wrinkled. When he noticed the small bookshelf next to the door, he immediately slid it across the door, hoping that it would keep out humans and dinosaurs alike.

* * *

Normally, Daryl felt safe and at home in the woods. But now, he felt like the prey that he usually hunted. Carol was walking next to him as close as she could get without tangling each other up. Glenn and Maggie were doing the same behind them. Ever since they had heard the blaring alarms telling them the dinosaurs were loose, they were all on edge. For all they knew, they could be being hunted right at that moment.

"I wish I fuckin' knew where we were," Daryl mumbled. Back home, he knew the woods like the back of his hand. He could have been dropped anywhere within them and still be able to find his way home. Though, it had not always been like that.

"We had our suspicious of this happening. We should have gotten ourselves prepared," Carol said with guilt.

"Yeah, we had our suspicions, but we didn't think Blake would be that psychotic to actually go through with it." He reached for her hand and squeezed. "We'll get through this. I'll get all of us out of here. Promise."

"I believe you." She squeezed his hand back before dropping it and turning to the couple behind them. "Are you two doing all right?"

"As long as I don't see a carnivorous dinosaur, I'll be all right," Glenn answered with a slightly forced smile. His personality called for something light and Carol admired him for saying something that put her at ease a tiny bit.

"I hear something," Daryl announced and the group of four stopped, trying to hear what he could. No one did.

"It's water," he explained further. "Come on. Maybe we can follow it to somewhere."

"Where Maggie and I worked, there was a river that ran through it. That could be what you're hearing," Glenn sounded a little excited now. "If we follow it to there, I'll know how to get us back!" They all took off, with Daryl in the lead, to the sound of water and what they found nearly had them all falling to their knees in relief.

It was a river. It was a pretty wide section of it, the other side looked to be about a hundred yards away and the water was somewhat clear. The current seemed to be pretty strong, as well, as they watched the water rush by.

"I know it might not be the same one," Glenn reasoned. "But following it will still be beneficial. Right, Daryl?"

"Yeah. Even if it ain't the right one, we can still use the water for drinking if we're out here too long."

Carol was about to say something when rustling in the trees behind them had all four of them jumping around. Carol reached back for Daryl, who took her hand. Glenn and Maggie huddled together.

Out of the trees, four velociraptors stepped through.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**Chapter Fifteen**

Daryl stood frozen in fear while Carol trembled next to him with it. Glenn and Maggie looked like statues standing slightly in front of them. However, the four raptors knew they were human and they continued to approach. Daryl could tell that these weren't ones from the enclosure. These ones had a wild look in their eyes, even wilder than the ones they had seen behind the glass.

They looked hungry. Starved, even.

Carol didn't move any part of her body, except her eyes as they looked up at Daryl. "We need to get in the water," she whispered. One of the raptors cocked his head in her direction and she slammed her mouth shut, waiting for it to look elsewhere.

Behind them the water rushed by and Daryl knew, from the width, that it had to be over their heads in the middle and if it was over their heads, it would be over the raptors heads, as well. If the bastards could even swim, that was. "You're right," he whispered back, eyes trained on the four monsters in front of him.

Glenn was obscuring the raptors view of Carol a bit. Cautiously, she reached forward and grabbed the edge of his shirt to tug on it a little. A slight nod of the head was all she needed to know that Glenn had heard her and Daryl.

"On three, we run," Daryl said out of the side of his mouth.

Maggie's fingers twitched slightly in response. Lucky for them, their weapons were strapped to their backs making it a lot easier for when they jumped into the water. With the dinosaurs running wild, there was no way they wanted to lose the only defense they had against them.

"One." Carol took half a step back. "Two." She could feel Daryl nearby. "Three!" This time she didn't even bother to whisper. She needed to make sure her friends knew when to jump. All four of them jumped into the river and were swimming toward the other side. However, the current was stronger than they thought and was already tugging them down river.

The raptors looked shocked at the sudden movement, but were soon after them. The two in the lead got in all the way to their necks before making screeching sounds and started to back pedal. Their small arms were no match for the current.

Carol surfaced about halfway across and she immediately looked for the familiar heads of her friends and Daryl. Up ahead, she could see Maggie and Glenn staying afloat and near another. Now, where was Daryl?

Something grabbed her from behind and she screamed. The noise echoed through the trees and Carol floundered to stay afloat as she reached for her knife.

"It's me." Daryl's familiar voiced calmed her down and if her feet were touching solid ground, she would have thrown herself into his arms.

"Sorry," she apologized.

"It's all right. I probably would have screamed, too." This earned him a little chuckle from Carol, easing things a tiny bit.

"You two okay back there?" Glenn had turned to look back at them. Before they could answer, Maggie's terrified shout of 'Look!' had them all looking at the shoreline. The four raptors were following them as close to the water's edge as they could.

"Fuck!" Daryl cursed.

"If the river narrows, they'll be able to get us," Carol panicked.

"We need to get to the other side." Daryl tugged on her arm and with the current constantly pushing them down the river; they started to swim to the other side. Glenn had looked back at them and saw what they were doing. He nudged Maggie and they started to do the same. However, just as they started the current started to get choppier and faster.

"Did Glenn say anything about a waterfall?" Daryl shouted over the noise, struggling to get to the other side.

"No!" Carol shouted back.

The way the water churned made Daryl think they were heading toward one. "We need to get the shore quick and see what's up ahead." Daryl was the first to make it to the sandy beach on the other end and hauled Carol up. When they looked up to see where Glenn and Maggie were, they couldn't spot them. Carol began to panic even more. Had the raptors somehow gotten to them? They were no longer seen following the shore line.

"There!" Daryl pointed just in time to see Glenn's dark head poke above the water. Maggie's quickly followed. The current must have pulled them under and now, they were drifting further and further away.

"We need to get them!" Carol cried, frightened for her friends. Without thinking, she started to run down the shore. Daryl was quickly on her heels. However, their sodden clothes made them slower than normal and soon Glenn and Maggie started to get smaller and smaller in the distance.

"Daryl! Do something!" This time tears were sliding down Carol's cheeks. There was nothing he could do besides jump in and try to catch up to them. There was no guarantee of being able to do that and he was not going to leave Carol alone with velociraptors running around.

"I can't," he admitted with defeat. By the time, their steps had slowed to a stop. Up ahead, the vegetation grew too thick for them to continue on the shore, anyway. "We can follow the river through the woods and hopefully, we'll find out where they got out." _If they got out_. "I can track them."

Carol nodded and pressed herself into his side. He wrapped his arms around her and placed his chin on top of her head as she sobbed. Phillip Blake was going to pay for this.

* * *

Thankfully, they were able to lose the raptors before they ran out of gas. Lori and Andrea had kept their eyes glued out the back window as they sped down the winding road to who knew where. The raptors didn't seem to tire and the arrow on the gas gauge got lower and lower.

The jeep finally coasted to a stop and Rick and Shane got out of the vehicle. Rick went to open the door for his wife, but she pressed herself more into the back seat. "There is no _way_ I'm getting out when there are dinosaurs running around!" Andrea nodded her head in total agreement. The two even still had their seatbelts on.

"So, you'll stay here and wait for them to find you?" Shane said. He had no patience for the two women. Especially since he had almost been eaten.

At that, the two women whipped off the belts and Lori flung herself into Rick's arms. While Andrea clung close to the jeep. The look on Shane's face conveyed the message that he didn't want anyone to touch him at the moment.

"What should we do now?" Rick asked Shane, looking over Lori's dark head.

"Find some place safe. Wherever that is." From the back seat, he retrieved his rifle. Rick already had his pistol on his hip. "We have to be a couple miles out from the main building. Those fuckers chased us for quite a ways."

"Let's find someplace quick. Before it gets dark." Rick detangled himself from his wife. The group of far began to walk toward the cover of trees, hoping to find someplace within them to use as a refuge.

"We can always climb one of the trees," Andrea offered, slowly getting her bearings back. "The raptors can't climb, not with their small arms and if we get high enough, not even the T-Rex can find us."

They all froze. They had seen the raptors firsthand, but the thought of the T-Rex being free as well had never crossed their minds. Not until Andrea had brought it up. "Uh, I think the sooner we find a suitable tree to climb, the better," Rick spoke what everyone had been thinking in that moment. He grabbed Lori's hand and Shane brought up the rear of their little group to keep an eye behind them.

Thankfully, if the T-Rex was near, they would hear the massive creature coming toward them. The velociraptors? Not too much.

* * *

They were safe. For now.

However, cramming four grown people into a hollowed tree proved to be _very_ uncomfortable. Poor Sasha, who had bee the first to spot the tree and the first to run into the hollow, was smashed in the back hardly able to breath. Michonne had barely been able to squeeze in before the T-Rex smashed through the woods. Luckily, it had not seen them...or they would all have been eaten.

"Next time, I say we throw Tyreese at the thing before all smashing in such a small space!" Sasha said in between gasps of breath as they finally all emerged from the tree trunk.

"Hey!" Her brother protested.

"What?" Sasha straightened. "After a meal of you, he won't be hungry for a while." She poked him in his gut which had turned soft since his retirement from football. Of course her words were all said as a joke. Sasha would be devastated if anything were to happen to her older brother.

T-Dog brushed pieces of bark from his shirt and pants. "So, what do we do now?"

"If that dinosaur is out, you can bet the other ones are out as well," Michonne said. "Meaning the velociraptors. We should head back to the main building. I lost the walkie talkie as we were running, but earlier I heard Carol's voice asking for help and no one answered, so I'm assuming we're on our own now." That was the most the stoic woman had said since she had arrived on the island and if things weren't so dire, they would probably all look at her with shock.

"I like that idea," Tyreese spoke up first.

"Now, I don't know what we'll be able to do when we get there, though," Michonne said.

"We don't care," Sasha spoke for all of them. "As long as we can get four walls around us, we'll feel a lot better. I don't like being out in the open, especially with things out there that are trying to eat us."

"Agreed." Everyone nodded their heads and with Michonne in the lead, they walked through the woods keep a sharp eye on their surroundings.

* * *

Because of the thick heat of the woods, Daryl and Carol's clothes had dried, though they had only been out of the river for a half hour. Daryl led the way as they followed the river. Sometimes, they followed by sight and others, they had to listen for the rushing water.

There was still no sign of Glenn or Maggie.

Carol looked tired as they trudged through the thick underbrush of the woods and there were trails through the dirt on her cheeks from her tears. Losing Glenn and Maggie in the river knowing that the velociraptors were closely following them had traumatized Carol. Those were her friends and they could be getting eaten.

"Once we find a clearing or somethin', we're goin' to rest," Daryl broke the silence.

"I'm fine. We need to keep looking for them," Carol said, firmly, though her mannerisms and the way she was walking told him differently.

He took on her hands and moved to stop in front of her. Carol had no choice but to stop walking. "Sweetheart," he started softly. "We're both dead on our feet and if we don't rest, we might actually become dead. Eaten. We need a clearing, we need to restore some of our energy and then, we'll keep looking. If Glenn and Maggie made it out of the river, they would still follow it in hopes of meeting us along the way."

It took a few seconds before Carol finally nodded her head in agreement. "Okay. But we'll only rest for a little bit. Right?" She peered up at him with pleading blue eyes.

"Five minutes. Promise."

"Okay. I can do that."

He kissed her forehead. "Thank you." Without letting go of her hand, they continued to walk through the woods.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

**Chapter Sixteen**

On Milton's desk sat a walkie. It was one the he carried around while he was at work in the labs just in case he was needed elsewhere on the park. Not only was he a geneticist, but he was also a veterinarian and in this case, he specialized on dinosaurs. Before everyone had arrived a week ago, he had been called to check out a triceratops that had eaten something she shouldn't have. At first, that wasn't what he had thought happened and it took a little while (and some digging in feces) for him to figure out the problem. Now, the triceratops was healthy and grazing freely with the other triceratops they had at the park. All it had to do was avoid the T-Rex and it should live a long, full life.

Milton gulped. The T-Rex was out and on the hunt. No dinosaur...or human were safe from its massive teeth. He took a look at the walkie once more. Would someone hear him if he were to talk into it? What would he tell them if they did? And he was also sure that if he were to use the device, Blake would hear his voice and know that he was still there. Finding out what Blake would do to him was almost scarier than the T-Rex or velociraptors finding him.

He placed the walkie in a drawer, hoping that by keeping it out of sight would keep it out of mind. Once the rest of his work space was cleared off, Milton unrolled a map of the park and placed paperweights in the corners to keep it open.

On the map, each enclosure was labeled and dotted lines showed their borders. Half of the island was made entirely for their omnivore dinosaurs to graze. The T-Rex and Velociraptor enclosures were on opposite ends of one another, which was only a little comforting. Close to the top of the map, the north most part, was where Blake and Jenner had taken everyone for some shooting practice. They would have to go past the raptor and T-Rex pens to get back to the main building. Hopefully, the carnivores would be long gone when they made the trip. _If_ anyone was alive to make the trip...

* * *

Just as Daryl hoped, up ahead was a clearing. His feet ached and his muscles were sore from carrying his bow. Beside him, Carol was practically dragging her feet, but she had been able to keep pace with him. Daryl hoped they he would be able to convince her that she would need more than five minutes of rest to restore at least some of her energy.

Breaking through the tree line. Daryl scoured the surroundings and made sure it was absolutely safe before they made themselves venerable out in the open. Not caring about getting dirty, the couple took a seat on the grass. Carol sagged against Daryl's side and closed her eyes. Daryl placed his bow in front of him and within easy reach.

"Five minutes only, remember Daryl?" Carol mumbled eyes still closed.

"I remember," he replied. "It hasn't even been a minute, yet. So keep resting." It had been more like two minutes since they had taken their seats, but he wasn't going to say anything about that.

"How do you think everyone is doing out there? Not just Maggie and Glenn."

"Don't know. Most of them seemed pretty capable, so I ain't too worried about them." Now that he thought about it, most of the people chosen to work at the park seemed pretty capable of surviving, whether it be from dinosaurs or some other life-ending event. Daryl started to wonder if that was why Blake had picked them all in the first place. How long had he been planning this?

"I want to go home, Daryl. Right now." She buried her face more into his shoulder and her face felt damp. Looking down, he saw that the tears had started again once more. "But first," she sniffled and leaned back to wipe her eyes. "We need to find Glenn and Maggie. We'll get off this place together."

Daryl wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close. "That's exactly what I want, too." Before, he had been concerned about still being friends with Carol when they were done with the job. Now, he just hoped they would get off it _alive._

Three minutes later, Carol stood, still looking tired but determined. "Let's go," she said. "I've rested enough."

"But it's only been three-"

"Five minutes." She gave him a grateful smile. "I can tell time too, Daryl. I knew what you were doing and thank you. But I want to get going. I want to find Maggie and Glenn." Daryl stood, knowing that it was no use to argue with her and if she was ready to go, then who was he to stop her?

* * *

It almost as if they had been walking in circles. All the trees and bushes looked the same. However, Rick led the small group confidently while Shane brought up the rear. The two women in the middle kept close to another and had their weapons out and ready, though they didn't know how well a small gun would fare against a large dinosaur.

The heat was getting to them. "Rick, we need to find water soon," Shane called from the back of the group. "Dehydration is going to be a problem soon." There had been one bottle of water in the jeep and it had been found half-empty under the driver's seat. It was long gone now and Rick held the empty bottle in his hand since he only needed one hand to hold his pistol.

"I know," Rick called over his shoulder and didn't stop walking. Sweat trickled down his neck and soaked his shirt. The rest of the group weren't faring any better. They needed to find water, soon or some shelter. It felt like they had been walking for hours and neither Shane nor Rick knew how close they were to the main building.

A rustling in the underbrush up ahead had the four of them stopping in their tracks. Shane ran up to join Rick at the front, his rifle out and ready. What stepped through the bush had Rick and Shane laughing hysterically. It was a squirrel. A small brown one. Andrea and Lori gave one another odd looks before looking back at the two men. Clearly the heat was really getting to them.

"That scared the shit out of me," Shane said between bouts of laughter. "I thought we were goners for sure!"

"A squirrel was the _last_ thing I thought would show up here." Rick put his gun away and wiped the tears that were collecting at the corners of his eyes.

"Uh. I'm glad you find that amusing," Andrea called up to them. "But can we get a move on. Staying in the same spot for long makes me think that something _other_ than a squirrel is going to find us."

The laughter stopped instantly, knowing that Andrea was right. "Let's go," Shane said. This time he took the lead and Rick hung back with his wife, who fell into step beside him. Lori turned to open her mouth, a small smile playing on her lips, but she was interrupted...by a loud roaring sound that echoed throughout the trees.

They all knew what that was.

However, it didn't sound close, but it didn't mean that they slowed their pace or felt any better about being in the woods. "Come on!" Shane encouraged with a sweep of his arm. Thoughts of finding water fell to the wayside. They needed to find somewhere safe, first.

"Remember my tree idea?" Andrea piped up as they continued to practically run through the woods.

"Now, I do!" Shane kept his head tilted up and looked for a nice tree to climb up.

* * *

Up ahead, they heard water.

"Thank God," Sasha cried when they stumbled onto a stream of clear water. Immediately she cupped her hands and drank mouthfuls of the cool liquid. The three others with her did the same. The heat was becoming almost intolerable and their need for thirst had been great.

Michonne produced an empty plastic water bottle, along with Tyreese, and the two filled them up. "Everyone should get their fill, now," Michonne suggested. "We'll stick close to the water, since it's a landmark, but there is a chance we may have to separate ourselves from it." Meaning that a dinosaur could show its ugly face and they would be on the run again.

"If we follow this, we're bound to find _something_. Right?" T-Dog stood and wiped his mouth.

"There was a river where the herbivores were," Sasha joined in. "Could this be the same one?"

"We won't know unless we follow it," Tyreese said.

"Which we're going to do." Michonne easily slid into the role of a leader. T-Dog, Sasha and Tyreese followed her willingly, knowing that she was probably their best at survival. The woman had a warrior air about her and when they had introduced themselves a few days before, she hadn't slipped them any thing about her past. For all they knew, she could have been a ninja.

* * *

"I didn't know this damn island was so big," Daryl muttered as they continued to walk. It felt like they had been walking for hours and had covered miles of ground.

"We didn't really know much about the layout, did we?" Carol asked from his side. "We never got a map and we were driven to our stations. Blake must have done it all on purpose. Can't believe we fell for this shit..."

Daryl had rarely heard Carol curse, but was too exhausted to really make a big deal about it. "Blake's smart. The psychotic type smart. If he didn't want us to find out what he was doing here, then we weren't going to know."

"Well, now we do." She sighed and reached for his hand, wanting to have some physical contact with him. "I want to find this cabin. I think I can sleep for three days. I bet Glenn and Maggie are holed up somewhere safe."

"They're smart. The normal kind of smart," he winked. "They'll be fine. We need to rest, though. If a raptor were to show up right now, I'd be too tired to run."

"Me too." Carol leaned heavily into his side with their hands still interlocked. The crossbow on his back had left a bruise from where it kept bouncing against his back and his feet ached. Never in his life had he been so tired, not even when he had been lost in the woods for nine days when he was little.

* * *

The sun was going down and it was getting harder to see in the woods. If they didn't find the cabin or something like it soon, they would most likely be sleeping in a tree, which was something that did _not_ appeal to Daryl at all. But it would keep them from being eaten, so he supposed he would be able to deal with it. If he even had the energy to climb a fucking tree.

Terrible shrieking noises from ahead had Carol and Daryl stopping in their tracks. They knew what dinosaur made those noises and they sounded _so_ close. "Fuck," Daryl hissed, eyes scanning the area around him and slung around his bow.

"Let's get up there!" Carol pointed to a tree a few feet away. It looked easy to climb and she was already running to it. "Come on, Daryl!" She called back to him. When they reached the tree, Daryl practically pushed Carol up the tree and scrambled up himself. They made sure to put several feet between them and the ground. If the raptors could jump, they didn't want to find out how high.

Rustling from below had Carol and Daryl looking down. Three thin looking raptors raced past the tree. They didn't look up once causing the couple to sigh in relief. If they had been spotted, they would have been stuck in the tree for who knew how long.

"They came from the river," Daryl whispered. "There was mud on their feet and...and I think one of them had blood on their jaw." The last part was difficult to get out.

"No!" Carol gasped and immediately started to descend from the tree.

"Carol, wait!" Daryl moved quickly to stop her. "There still might be more in the area."

"Daryl, you said there was blood on one of them. It could be Glenn or Maggie! If they're not dead, they could use our help!" Tears glistened in her eyes. " _Please_ , we have to find out." He hesitated. "Daryl. _Please,"_ she begged.

"Be careful," he said with resignation and followed Carol down from the tree. If another raptor appeared from the trees, he would gladly place himself in front of her, just as he had done those few days ago.

Carol took off running once her sneakered feet hit the soft dirt and Daryl nearly fell out of the tree in his haste to follow her. For all they knew, it could be a trap and there were more raptors waiting for them. Daryl had no doubts that they would be smart enough to do that.

Carol disappeared for a second as they neared the river. "Daryl!" Her panicked cry had his feet pumping faster and when he burst through the underbrush, he found her on her knees by the bank of the river. Over her shoulder, she looked at him and he saw tears slipping down her cheeks.

"What is it?"

"This." In her hand, was the bloody remains of the riot vest Glenn had been wearing.

* * *

**Uh oh.**

**So, did you all catch the little throwback to the original Jurassic Park in this chapter? ;)**

**Thanks for reading!**


	17. Chapter Seventeen

**Chapter Seventeen**

"Shit."

Daryl took the bloody piece of vest and fell to his knees beside Carol. The material of the vest was meant to be strong, bulletproof, but razor sharp claws had sliced right through it. Daryl could only imagine what they would do to skin. Carol leaned into his side and cried, softly. For all she knew, this was a sign that Glenn was dead.

"I can't even tell what went on here," Daryl muttered and dropped the vest. All around the area, footprints and claw marks mingled together. Daryl couldn't make out what had happened. The only good sign, though, was that the only blood seemed to be on the vest and nowhere else. There was still a sliver of a chance that Glenn and Maggie had gotten away.

But how? They were no match for the speed at which the raptors ran and if one of them was hurt, then...

He felt tears prick his eyes, as well. Glenn and Maggie had been his friends. Never in his life had he had friends and now that he did, it looked like they were dead. Killed in the worst imaginable way. Torn apart and eaten by a dinosaur.

"What do we do now?" Carol's small, trembling voice broke him from his reverie.

"We find shelter. We get back to the main building and kill that bastard." Daryl stood to his feet and Carol followed, eyes hard as steel.

"For Glenn and Maggie," she said with determination.

"For Glenn and Maggie."

* * *

Blake relocated to his suite just as the sun started to lower in the sky. Nighttime would be the most dangerous time for his players, but he needed sleep and Jenner promised to inform him if anything happened while he was away. Nearly everyone had found solace somewhere in the woods and with cameras being scattered throughout, their every move could not be seen. Much to Blake's chagrin.

Fourteen velociraptors and one T-Rex were on the loose. It was only a matter of time before someone got careless and lost their life. If none had already...

Phillip patted himself on the back for the selections he had made. They all seemed capable to survive, at least for a little while, which proved to give him and Jenner plenty of entertainment. When things were all said and done and there was a victor, things would go downhill from there. Not that Blake couldn't handle it. Once word got out about the failure of his park and the loss of life, everyone in the world would be focused on his tiny island. But he would be gone. _Long_ gone. Everyone would think he had been killed, along with everyone else when in reality; he would be starting a new life somewhere in Europe. Things would be normal.

Until he got bored, again...

Finally, he slipped under the satin covers of his bed and closed his eyes, eager to get up in the morning to see what had transpired as he slept. Who would be left alive? Everyone? No one? Daryl? Carol? Tyreese?

* * *

They were still in the middle of nowhere when darkness finally hit. There wasn't even a moon to give them some light. Daryl tapped Carol's shoulder, who had been walking slightly in front of him for the last hour. "I think we should start finding a good tree to sleep in."

In the dim light, Daryl could make out the disgusted face Carol made. "Okay. Looks like we won't be getting much sleep tonight, huh? Unless you find a tree with a bed."

"I'll do my best." Daryl winked, though he knew she probably couldn't see it.

"If you do, I'll love you forever," Carol continued to tease, though the weight of what may have happened to Glenn and Maggie still weighed heavily on her mind.

"Thought that was a given."

They had only kissed for the first time the day before, but Daryl knew that he cared deeply for Carol. He wasn't sure if it was love yet, but he knew it had to be pretty damn close. He wondered if Carol felt the same. He was too chicken shit to ask, though.

"If you play your cards right, it might be." Though Carol looked to be still teasing him, there was seriousness in her tone, as well.

"I plan on it."

They stood looking at one another, communicating without words. Daryl never thought another person could understand him, besides Merle, until he came to the island and met Carol. Even with the dinosaurs roaming free, Daryl didn't think he would ever be able to regret applying for the job. Without it, he wouldn't have met Carol.

A rustle in the woods somewhere a ways off had Daryl and Carol breaking eye contact and looking for another tree to escape into. This time, Carol found one and they quickly ascended it. The rustle must have been from another animal because no raptor made an appearance. At least, they both hoped that it was another animal and not a raptor stalking them.

Daryl led the way up the tree until he reached a branch that was wide enough to sit on. He positioned himself against the trunk of the tree and patted his lap. "Here," he said. "You can use my leg as a pillow and I'll make sure we don't fall out of tree."

Carol looked a little unsure. "You don't look like you'll be very comfortable, Daryl."

"I'll be fine. I've slept in worst places."

Carol still looked uncertain, but crawled up to him and placed her head gingerly on his leg. "If you get too uncomfortable, let me know and we'll switch places."

"I'll be fine," he said again.

Carol's curly hair fanned across his lap. Gently, he ran his fingers through it. Carol sighed and didn't tell him to stop, so Daryl took this as a good sign. "When I was little," he said. "I got lost in the woods for nine days. This isn't the only tree I've slept in."

"Why were you lost so long? Didn't someone come looking for you?"

"No. My brother was in juvie and my dad was on some bender. He didn't even know I had been gone."

"I'm sorry, Daryl." Carol squeezed his calf, her hand feeling hot through the fabric of his jeans. "If I had known you back then, I would have looked for you."

"I know." Daryl continued to run his finger through her hair when he saw that she found it soothing.

"And I wouldn't have stopped until you were found."

"I know." He smiled. "Tell me about your childhood." Neither one seemed to feel sleepy at the moment and Daryl took the opportunity to get to know Carol more.

"Hm. Well, when I was only four my dad died in a car accident. I don't remember him much, but I did remember that my mom would always cry." Her fingers danced up and down his leg and Daryl tried hard to not think about them. "I always tried my hardest to make her happy."

"I'm sorry."

"It's all right. Soon, she started to get better. She smiled more and for a while, we were happy. Then, once I started college she wanted me to start dating so I could find the one. She picked guys out for me and I didn't like any of them."

"Like Ed?"

She grimaced. "Like Ed. Every year, she kept trying harder and harder for me to get with someone. It's the reason why I applied for this job. With the money I would be getting paid, I would be able to find my own place." She sighed. "But it doesn't look like I'll be seeing any of that money now."

"I came here because of the money, too. Merle got himself into a bit of trouble back home and I was going to help him get out of it. Can't do it anymore." For the first time since the dinosaurs had been sent free, Daryl thought of his brother. No money was going to be sent back to him. What would Gareth do?

Carol lifted her head to look up at him. "What's going to happen if he doesn't get the money?" She looked genuinely worried, which made Daryl fall in love with her even more.

He shrugged. "I don't know. But, he's Merle. He'll think of somethin'."

"Good." Carol lay back down. "I would hate for anything to happen to your family, Daryl. Especially since I haven't met him, yet."

Daryl couldn't help but snort. "You won't want to meet him. He's a crude asshole who would likely leer at you than say hi."

"So, he's nothing like you, then?"

"Hell no."

They grew silent after that. Daryl listened carefully to the night, but only heard sounds of frogs and other night creatures. No dinosaurs, which was a good thing. However, he still didn't know if he would be able to sleep.

"Hey," he said, surprising himself. "If you need a place to stay, you can stay with me. Once we get off this damn island, of course." The words shocked the hell out of him and it was too late to take them back.

"Are you asking me to move in with you, Daryl?" Though he couldn't see her face, he knew she was teasing him. He still felt flustered, though.

"U-Uh no. It's just we have an extra room at our house and if you want to get away from your mom, you can have it."

Seconds ticked by, making Daryl even more nervous. "I'd like that. I don't know about you, though, once I get off this island, I'm suing Phillip Blake for all he has. I'm sure I'll be able to buy a mansion and _then_ , you can live with me. How does that sound?"

"I think it sounds pretty damn good."

"Good."

After that, they talked softly with one another for the rest of the night. It wasn't until the first rays of dawn started to flood the woods did Carol close her eyes in sleep and Daryl leaned his head on the trunk to do the same. The day before had been extremely taxing emotionally and physically, but they took advantage of being safe and alone. Daryl knew more about Carol than he did any other person and vice versa.

* * *

"Anything?" Phillip Blake practically ran down to the room with the monitors with two coffees in his hand. He didn't even react when the hot liquid of one sloshed onto his hand.

"Nothing," he answered. "Those that we were able to spot on camera seemed to have gotten smart and climbed a tree for the night." He pointed to one monitor and in the distance; Blake could make out the figures of Carol and Daryl as they slept.

"That's so boring," he huffed and took a seat. "Where are my babies?" He was talking about the raptors.

"A few went north. Sasha and her group are the nearest humans to them, but I don't know if they know that yet. I haven't seen any others for a while."

"They're probably just waking up, now." Phillip wheeled the chair closer to Jenner and the monitors. Jenner took the coffee offered, thankfully. There were bags under his eyes and Phillip knew he had stayed up the whole night to watch the screens, just as he wanted.

"Get some sleep, Edwin. I'll keep a look out."

Jenner didn't need to be told twice. He got to his feet. "Don't hesitate to radio me down if something interesting happens."

"I won't." Phillip knew that Jenner was just as excited about this game as he was.

When Jenner left the room, Phillip kept his eyes glued to the monitors. Like he had said earlier, the raptors were probably just waking up and he knew that they would be hungry when they did. In his heart, he knew things were about to get real interesting and he was down right _giddy_.

* * *

**Thanks for reading!**


	18. Chapter Eighteen

**Chapter Eighteen**

Carol and Daryl talked softly to one another until almost dawn. Carol had been the first to succumb to sleep, curled up on her side with her head on Daryl's thigh. Once Daryl had realIzed that Carol was no longer with him in the conscious world, he looked down at her with a fond smile, glad that she was finally able to sleep. Leaning his head back on the rough bark behind him, Daryl closed his eyes, as well. Surprisingly, sleep came easily to him despite all that had gone on today.

They were allowed to sleep for a few hours before the blinding sun and heat woke them up. Carol stirred first, shoulder aching from lying on it all night. She couldn't imagine the aches and pains Daryl would wake up with. Sitting up, she ran fingers through her hair, knowing that it would probably do no good. Her hair could be untamable on good days where she actually had a brush to run through it.

Looking around below them, she saw that they seemed to be alone. She slipped on her pack and moved to start climbing down the tree. She had to pee and she hoped that while being down there, she could find something they could eat. Like berries or something.

"Where you goin'?" Daryl had woken up and was now looking down at her as she stood on the branch just below the one they had slept in.

"Um. I have to go to the...bathroom." She flushed. "And I was hoping that I could find something for us to eat while I was out."

"Do you know much about plants?" He asked. Curious.

"Uh. No."

"Then, you should probably leave the food gatherin' to me. We're already in danger of our lives with the dinosaurs, we don't want a little plant to be the thing that killed us." He stretched and winced.

"Sore?" She asked. "Sorry," she apologized.

Daryl waved her off. "Ain't nothin' to apologize for. It was my idea."

"Still. Next time, I'll be the one that sits up." She held up a pinky. "I pinky promise." Daryl stared at the digit oddly before linking his pinky with it.

"All right. I don't know about you though, but I'm hopin' we find something more comfortable than a tree to sleep in tonight." He was thinking of the cabin they had stumbled across a few days before. If they could make it there, they would be able to have food, weapons and a bed to sleep in. At the moment, Daryl didn't know which of those things sounded more appealing.

"I hope so, too." She beamed and continued on her descent down the tree. Daryl reached for his crossbow, that hung from a nearby branch in easy grabbing distance and ignored the tightness of the muscles in his neck and shoulders. Carol was on the ground before he finally made it to the branch below the one they had just been on. However, a rustling in the bushes had him freezing.

Carol heard the noise, too and her head jerked to where it was coming from. Her blue eyes were round with fright. A velociraptor appeared. It looked like one of the ones that had chased them into the river. It looked skinny, too skinny and there was a wild, hungry look in it's eye.

"Fuck," Daryl hissed and started to climb down faster. He had to be careful, though. If he fell out of the tree he would be no help to Carol.

The raptor didn't even glance up at Daryl. Instead, it only had eyes for Carol and if the thing had lips, Daryl was sure it would have been licking them. He needed to get down there to do...to do, what? He didn't know. It was a fucking dinosaur.

He had just been able to load his bow and swing it around to his front when the damn thing lunged. Carol screamed and Daryl let a bolt fly, praying to God that he hit the thing and at the least, slowed it down before it got to Carol. He jumped down the rest of the way, ignored the shot of pain going up his legs and went straight to Carol. He was about to grab her hand and run.

"Daryl, wait. Look!" She pointed behind him.

The raptor was on the ground, one of his bolts in his eye. Dead

"Oh, thank God," he breathed and sagged against Carol, placing his forehead against her shoulder. He could have easily lost her. He would have seen it happen! The thought almost had him vomiting.

Carol cupped his cheeks and pressed a kiss to his mouth. "You saved my life." She wrapped her arms around him and held him close. Daryl returned the embrace just in time for Carol to break down and start sobbing. Daryl understood. She had almost died in the most gruesome of ways.

"It's all right," he soothed. "You're safe now. I ain't goin' to let anythin' happen to you."

"I love you, Daryl."

The words cemented him to the ground. Of all the things she could have said, Daryl hadn't expected those words. For a moment, he didn't know what to say. Carol was looking up at him with shimmering, blue eyes and waited. "I-". Another rustle behind them had Daryl pushing Carol behind him and bringing up his bow. He killed one of the bastards, he could kill another.

It was only a rabbit.

"Daryl," Carol said behind him. "We should go. Velociraptors travel in packs."

"Fuck." Without another word, he grabbed her hand and they took off. Later, he would think about those three words Carol had said to him. But now, he had to make sure they survived long enough for him to think about them.

* * *

Philip Blake watched the monitors with rapt attention. He had witnessed every moment of Daryl's rescue and hadn't even minded that one of his raptors was dead. There were still thirteen of them roaming around.

"That's why my bet is on you, Dixon," he said and leaned back in his chair, watching as Daryl and Carol made a run for it. "If anyone is to beat this game, it'll be you." His eyes stayed on the hunter and his girl until they ran off the screen. With a satisfied grin, he picked up the walkie on the table in front of him.

"Jenner?" He spoke into it.

"Yes," the doctor replied a few seconds later, voice tired.

"Got something to show you. You'll find it pretty interesting." He started at the screen with the dead raptor, Daryl's bolt still stuck in its eye.

"I'll be down in five minutes."

* * *

Rick and Shane were dead on their feet as they walked through the woods. The night before, they hadn't been able to find a suitable tree to sleep in and had opted to find somewhere on the ground. This resulted in the men taking watch while the women slept. They hadn't regretted their decision until now.

"How big is this damn island," Shane growled, wiping sweat from his brow. It was his turn to lead the pack. "You would think we would have come across something by now."

"You would think," Andrea replied walking alongside him. In her hand, she had her Ladysmith. She held the weapon a little awkwardly, but she knew the basics of how it worked and would be able to pull the trigger if needed to. Actually hitting something, though, was a different story completely.

"So, when we get out of this. Alive. How much do you think we can sue Philip Blake for?" Shane looked at Andrea from the corner of his eye, a smirk on his face.

" _A lot."_

* * *

Michonne, Sasha, Tyreese and T-Dog continued to follow the river, still with no idea where they were but were at least able to stay hydrated. The night before, they had taken turns on watch while they slept on the forest floor. Luckily, no dinosaur of any kind had found them. The only effective weapons from a distance would have been Sasha's rifle and T-Dog's gun. Michonne couldn't use her katana unless the dinosaur was right on her and Tyreese's hammer was downright useless. A fact his sister liked to tease him about.

"Wait until we get back and I tell Bob about your hammer," she said with a grin and nudged her older brother. "He's going to love it." Bob was her boyfriend back at home. He was an army medic and hadn't been able to apply for the job, though he had desperately wanted to.

"Shut up, Sash," he grumbled. All his life, except for those few years before Sasha had been born, Tyreese had been subjected to her constant teasing. He was the big, tough-looking guy with the heart of gold. He would rather give someone a hug than fight them.

"I mean, if we need a shelter built you're our go to guy. Though, it's kind of useless if we don't have nails." She laughed and gave her brother a one armed hug when he continued to give her a death glare. "I love you, Tyreese."

"Not enough," he replied. "Otherwise you'd leave me alone."

"Sorry. It's my job to be an ass."

"Guys, shh!" T-Dog turned on them and mimed a zipping motion of his mouth before pointing at something across the river. They weren't right along its banks, but the sound of the rushing water was loud and they had been able to follow it.

Across the way, they saw a lone figure walking through the trees. From the distance, they were able to recognize her. "That's Maggie," Michonne said. "Why is she by herself?"

They called to her, but the water must have been too loud to be heard over. T-Dog turned to Michonne. "Isn't Glenn usually attached to her side?" Worry was evident in his warm, brown eyes.

"Oh, God." Michonne's eyes widened to match T-Dogs' and she looked back to where Maggie had disappeared to. "Where is he?"

They all got a sick feeling in their stomachs.

* * *

Daryl didn't stop running until his sides felt like they were going to burst and Carol was being practically dragged behind him. He knew that the velociraptors could run fast and he wasn't going to take any chances of them catching up. Once they rested for a few minutes, they would be off again. The close call from earlier had been enough to scare Daryl for life. Carol had been so close to being killed that just thinking about it almost caused Daryl to vomit.

"Daryl..." Carol said in between gasps of breath as she leaned forward and placed her hands on her knees. "We can't keep going on like this." She wiped the sweat from her brow with a forearm. "I feel like we're running around in circles, which isn't your fault, of course and Glenn and Maggie are still out there. Alive. They just have to be. It's been two days and I feel like I'm going crazy."

Daryl completely understood. This was so obviously a sick game on Phillip Blake's part. He had brought them to a remote island with dinosaurs, taught them the bare minimum about the island and dropped them off in the middle of nowhere. "I don't know what to do," he admitted and slumped his shoulders. "I thought followin' the river would be useful, but we haven't come across shit 'cept Glenn's bloody vest." He wanted to hit something out of frustration.

Carol placed a hand on his arm. "I think we should keep following the river. That was a good idea. We have to be close to _something_ , right? The island isn't that big." She gave him a weak smile, trying to make him feel better.

"Yeah, let's just keep followin' the river. Stay close to me, all right?"

Things seemed relatively calm at the moment, but Daryl felt like this was a game that not even Carol could win.


	19. Chapter Nineteen

**Chapter Nineteen**

Milton was starving. He hadn't eaten since lunch the day before. However, the pantry was far from his apartment and there was a chance he would run into Jenner or Phillip. That was a risk he wasn't willing to take. Yet. If he had to choose, he would rather die of starvation than get ripped apart by a dinosaur.

His stomach cramped in protest and when he stood, he felt lightheaded. Maybe he should venture out. It almost felt like his stomach was going to be the thing that tore him apart. He made his way to the door, walking on tiptoe and suddenly got an idea. On the way to the kitchen, he would pass the phones. If he could make it down there without getting caught, he could get a hold of someone. But who? Was this a situation to call the police? What would they do against _dinosaurs_?

He glanced over at the clock on his desk. Eugene should be home from his flight, by now. Maybe he could call him. He would surely know what to do...if he believed him. "I can do this," he whispered. All his life, he had been branded as a coward and now was the time he could prove all of his tormentors wrong.

Milton Mamet was brave. He was strong. He could reach the phones without getting caught and tossed out with the dinosaurs. Taking a deep breath, he reached for the doorknob and turned it.

He could do this.

* * *

Fuck. He couldn't do this anymore. The walking had become monotonous and the constant fear of being attacked was wearing at their nerves. Daryl had nearly snapped on Carol when she had stumbled and bumped him. So wound up, he had thought it was a velociraptor and nearly hit Carol with his crossbow. When he saw her eyes widen in fear, he had put down his bow and swallowed the harsh words threatening to explode from his mouth.

They were starving. In their haste to get somewhere, Daryl hadn't kept his eyes open for any game he could kill. Not that they had any way of cooking it if they had.

"Daryl, look!" Carol's cry had him almost whipping out his bow again, but it wasn't a cry of alarm. Daryl turned and saw that her finger was pointing at something up ahead and when he saw what she had seen, he nearly wept.

It was a cabin. From first glance, he couldn't tell if it was the cabin they had stumbled across a few days before. But he would take it. At the very least, it would give them some shelter."Let's go." With renewed energy, Daryl grabbed Carol's hand and they took off toward the small building.

Just like the cabin they had found, the door was unlocked. Stepping into the shelter, Daryl knew that it wasn't the same cabin as before. The one bedroom was to their right and not their left, and the supply closet was on the opposite side, as well. However, everything else was the same. Carol went straight to the supply closet and Daryl went straight to the bedroom, making sure there was a bed and no raptors waiting for them.

Carol joined Daryl in the doorway of the room with her arms full of different kinds of food. Daryl's stomach rumbled loudly at the sight and he relieved Carol of some of the food. They took a seat at the only table in the kitchen and feasted. "There's plenty more in the supply closet," Carol said after swallowing a large bite of a granola bar. "Plus, tons of weapons. We're set for a long time. Not that I want to stay here for a long time."

"I know," Daryl agreed. "Glenn, Maggie and the others are still out there. We need to find them or at least make it back to the main building."

"Oh!" Carol exclaimed and stood from the table to rush back to the closet. Daryl watched her with an odd expression on his face. There was still plenty of food on the table. Was she going to get more?

Carol returned a few seconds later with something rolled up in her hand. "I found this, too." She moved some of the food from the table and unrolled it.

"It's a map," Daryl said in awe. "And it's marked where we are right now." He pointed to the red 'x' with a finger. It looked like they were directly in the middle of the island. The main building was still a ways off. They would have to go past the raptor pen to get to it.

"At least there's another cabin on the way there," Carol spoke, seeming to have read Daryl's mind. "We should rest here for the night and in the morning, fill our packs with tons of food and maybe grab a few of those large guns."

"I like that plan." He nodded. "If it took us this long to get here, there's no telling how long it'll take us to get to the other cabin." The map had no legend to let him know how many miles the island was or how many it would take for them to get to the main building. It would be better to be safe than sorry. Speaking of... "We should grab a few of those grenades, too."

"Got it." Carol smiled.

They ate in silence after that. Carol watched Daryl as he poured over the map, most likely trying to memorize it in case they lost it. Knowing Blake and the game he was playing, it would probably dissolve in their hands the moment they left the safety of the cabin.

Once they had eaten their fill, Carol threw away the trash. She went back to the closet and pulled out a box marked toiletries. She knew the bathroom didn't have a shower, but it did have a sink and she felt absolutely disgusting.

"I'm going to wash up a bit," she said to Daryl on her way to the bathroom. He was still looking at the map and waved his hand in acknowledgement. Carol made quick work of washing her face, arms and neck of all the grime. The state of her hair was ridiculous and Carol wondered how Daryl had been able to keep a straight face around her. With only her fingers as a comb, she straightened out the strands as best she could.

"I wish there was a shower in this place," she sighed once she walked out of the bathroom. Daryl was still sitting in the same place she had left him, but this time the map was rolled up.

"Once we get the hell out of here, you can take an hours long shower." He leaned back in his chair and smiled.

"Hmm." Carol walked over and sunk down on her knees in front of Daryl, who gulped and nearly fell out of his chair in his haste to sit up. "Do you plan on joining me?"

Daryl's face went white and Carol was enjoying this, despite the fact that she knew she looked disgusting. "U-Uh. I-I..."

Standing to her feet, she giggled and kissed his cheek. "I'm just messing with you, Daryl."

"Oh, yeah. I knew that." His face was blood red and he refused to look at her. "Uh. I'm going to go wash up, now."

"Okay." Carol beamed. "I'll be in the bedroom, getting ready for bed." Daryl shuffled into the tiny bathroom and closed the door while Carol went to the bedroom. Unlike the cabin by the raptors, this room had more than just a cot. There was an actually bed, but it was small. Only a twin-sized. It would be a tight fit.

Carol unbuckled her belt and slid her jeans down her legs. The shirt she wore touched the tops of her thighs. She tugged it down lower, knowing that Daryl would be there in a matter of minutes. She couldn't believe she was doing this.

When Carol heard the door to the bathroom open, she quickly jumped under the covers and pulled them to her chin. From the cracked open door, she saw as Daryl turned off the lights in the kitchen and made his way to the bedroom. When he got to the door, he froze at seeing Carol in the bed already.

"Uh, well. I'll sleep on the floor."

"No, you don't." Carol sat up and moved over until she was almost pressed against the wall. "You slept sitting up last night, you need to sleep comfortably tonight. There's room for you." She patted the mattress.

"Okay." He slipped off his bow and placed it by the door, which he shut and locked. Then, with some reluctance, he slid under the covers with Carol. She didn't say a word and reached over him to turn off the light and as she moved, Daryl felt the softness of bare skin brush against his hand. He froze. Was she naked?

"Something wrong?" Carol asked, settling back in her spot. She had felt him tense up.

"Uh, no. I'm fine." He needed to make sure that there was some space between them in the bed (which would be difficult) or he would have big problem when he woke up.

And this time, there would be no cold showers to solve it.

* * *

There was so much blood.

As much as Maggie scrubbed, she couldn't get all the blood off her hands. Her tears mixed with the water from the river and yet, the blood remained.

* * *

"Who's there?" Shane whipped around, rifle raised and ready to shoot if he needed it to. The rest of the group turned and faced him. Rick had his gun out and was pushing Lori behind him.

"What is it, Shane?" He asked.

"I heard something behind us." His keen eyes searched the trees. Though it was getting dark, he could still see a little. Rustling to his right had him swing in that direction, Rick followed quickly. If it was a raptor, it would have jumped out at them...or it was toying with them.

"It's just us." A deep familiar voice spoke and four figures materialized from the trees. Tyreese, T-Dog, Sasha and Michonne. Shane lowered his weapon, sighing in relief. They had been on edge all day.

"Is anyone else with you?" Lori asked. "Glenn? Maggie? Carol or Daryl?" They were the only ones missing and no one wanted to think about what could have happened to them.

"We saw Maggie earlier, across the river," Sasha spoke up. "She was alone." They were all silent after that. There was no doubt what they were all thinking.

"Blake is going to pay for what he did," Michonne said menacingly. "He planned this. There's no denying it. This is some kind of sick game to him. I bet he's watching us right now and laughing." They all looked around, searching the trees, seeing if they could spot any cameras.

"He will pay," Rick said resolutely. "But first, we need to find a place to settle down for the night so we don't get eaten."

* * *

Daryl laid awake long after Carol had fallen asleep. Though this wasn't the closest they had slept together, this was the closest they had been together in a bed. And from the feel of it, Carol didn't have on any pants. He itched to feel the soft skin of her thighs, but refrained. Instead, he kept his hands underneath his head.

Carol mumbled something in her sleep and suddenly, she was pressed against his side. Her bare leg hitched up dangerously close to his hips and Daryl had no choice but to wrap an arm around her to keep her from moving some more.

Fuck.

Carol's arm wrapped around his waist and her head was on his shoulder. "You're so comfortable, Daryl," she mumbled sleepily. She leaned up and kissed his cheek before snuggling close again and closed her eyes.

With Carol snuggled close to him, Daryl felt warm and comfortable. Gone were the worries of earlier and he didn't care that Carol was half-naked under the covers. She was right where he wanted her and with those thoughts, he finally closed his eyes.

* * *

Milton was able to reach the phones with no problem at all, which was surprising and nothing short of a miracle. In his mind, he thought Jenner and Blake would be at every door and around every corner, waiting to catch him. Instead, he ran into no one and hadn't even heard anyone, either. They must be so into their camera monitors, which caused Milton to shudder. How could they just sit there and potentially watch a human being getting torn apart and eaten? It was sick.

Milton thought he heard a sound and quickly jumped into the nearest booth with a phone. Taking deep breaths, he slid to the ground and pressed himself to the wall. If anyone walked by and glanced inside, they wouldn't see him. Or so he hoped.

Footsteps echoed down the hallway. Two sets of them. "Jenner, you get the popcorn ready and I'll get us the drinks," Blake's voice caused Milton to bring his knees to his chest.

"We're taking a risk with both of us leaving the room," Jenner's almost monotone voice filled the hallway.

"I know. That's why I'm getting the drinks and running back," Blake answered. "I'll let you know if you miss anything interesting. Again."

 _Again_? What interesting thing happened? Knowing them, someone had died. Milton gulped and tried not to think about who it could have been. Though he had met with each of them briefly, he had liked them all. Even if he hadn't, he would never wish for them to get eaten.

As the voice drifted away, Milton shot to his feet and reached for the phone. He wouldn't have much time before Blake came down that way, but he needed to get this call out. The sooner the better. Hopefully, he would be able to save some lives.

Dialing one of the numbers he had in his contact book (which he had memorized as he prepped himself to come down there), he gripped the phone with both hands and begged the person on the other end to pick up. If they didn't, he didn't know what he would do.

"Hello. Are you not aware of what time it is? In order for me to get my required eight hours I've sleep, I need to be in b-"

"Eugene! It's me, Milton!"

"Milton? Why are you not in bed? You need the required amount of sleep just as much as I do."

"Eugene, we have a big problem here and I need you to listen very carefully."

"Problem where?"

"I'm still on the island."

"Weren't you supp-"

"Yes! I was supposed to leave, but I couldn't. Now, I might be regretting it." Stretching the cord as far as he could go, he peeked into the hallway. No one.

"What is it that you need my assistance with?" Thankfully, Eugene sounded more awake and alert.

"They're out, Eugene. All the dinosaurs are loose."


	20. Chapter Twenty

**Chapter Twenty**

Daryl woke from the best sleep he had ever experienced. Carol was still curled into his side with one of her legs draped over his hips. Her soft breath tickled the skin of his neck and when he moved slightly, she tightened her grip on him. Daryl knew that he could stay there for the rest of the day, if he wanted, but they needed to get up and get off this island. Once they were safe, he would dedicate a whole day of them just staying in bed.

His face flamed at how that had sounded in his head. Of course, _that_ wasn't what he had meant. Not yet, anyway. He and Carol were still in the beginning stages of their relationship. Though, she didn't seem to mind being half-naked in front of him. (He didn't mind that, either.)

Daryl's stomach growled and interrupted his thoughts. As carefully and gently as he could, he slipped from the bed. Carol didn't wake, instead she clutched the pillow he had just abandoned to her chest and continued sleeping. He couldn't help but stand and watch her for a few minutes, a goofy smile on his face. Finally, when his stomach rumbled again, he left the room and searched for something for breakfast.

A half hour later, he had been able to mix several cans of fruit together to make a fruit salad. There was no type of meat to cook, unless they wanted Spam, so he thought a nice fruit salad would do. He also grabbed a few bottles of water and placed them on the table. Orange juice and coffee would be perfect, but they couldn't be picky. Not now. When they got back, Daryl would make Carol the best breakfast ever.

The door to the room opened and Carol stepped out, fully clothed and clutching the pillow to her chest. She still looked half-asleep and the sight of the food on the table seemed to wake her a little.

"Mornin," Daryl greeted and pulled out a chair for her. She took it gratefully and dropped the pillow the ground.

"Morning, Daryl. I missed waking up to you." She looked up at him shyly.

"Is that why you brought out the pillow?" He teased and took a seat.

"It was a nice substitute, but no where near the real thing." She blushed and reached to help herself to some fruit salad. Daryl did the same and together, they ate in silence. Every once in awhile, they would make eye contact and one or both would look away with flaming faces.

* * *

Rick and his group of eight got up at just as the sun began to peek over the horizon. They were determined to make some progress in walking the island. They figured they had to be close to something by now.

"I'm starving!" T-Dog complained and rubbed his belly. Everyone else did the same. It had been a few days since they had last eaten and before that, they had gotten used to three meals a day in which they stuffed themselves.

"We all are," Rick replied. "That's why we can't delay any longer. We need to find something. The island isn't that big and we should come across something soon." He sounded way more optimistic than he felt, but he needed to keep his people's spirits up.

Lori joined his side and placed a hand on his arm. "If anyone can lead this group to safety, it's you." It was almost uncanny on how well his wife knew him, sometimes. Other times, though, she would almost seem disgusted with the choices he made. Especially when he never raised his voice at her when they had an argument.

"Thank you," he whispered. Then, he turned and addressed the group once more. "Andrea? Can you take a few with you and fill up what water bottles we have with water? Once that's done, we'll start moving." He planned on following the river for awhile, but he wanted them to be stocked up just in case the inevitable happened. Like if a dinosaur surprised them.

Once Andrea, Michonne and Shane returned with filled water bottles, they started on their way once more. They followed the river. While Rick kept an eye on the water, the rest kept an eye out on their surroundings. Since the group was bigger and they had more weapons, they were better equipped to protect themselves. But anything could still happen and they all needed to be cautious.

It seemed like they had been walking for hours when Shane shouted from the back of the group. Those with useful weapons, quickly turned around to train it the threat, but saw that it wasn't a threat at all. Shane ran up to Rick and pointed in the distance to where the river was widening. "I know where we are if that's what I think it is," the excitement almost leaving him out of breath.

"And where is that?"

"I worked with Glenn and Maggie at the herbivore exhibit. They had a large lake in the middle of the area and it had a river feeding into it. If this is the river, then I'll know how to get us back to the main building."

The spirits of the whole group immediately lifted. "What are we waiting for?" Tyreese said from the back. "Let's go." They all practically ran up ahead, however, they had to maneuver through some thick brush before they could make it to the lake. Shane was even more excited about this because he remembered their being brush, too.

Eight people burst through the underbrush...and stopped in their tracks.

Standing not ten feet from them, taking a drink from the clear waters of the lake, was the T-Rex.

* * *

Maggie had been lucky to find the cabin. There was no telling what would have happened to her if she hadn't had a place to hide from the raptors. Smelling blood, they had been on her trail and it had been a matter of luck that she hadn't been killed and had seemed to lose them for a time.

All she wanted to do was get off this God-forsaken island, after killing Phillip Blake, of course. He deserved to be ripped apart by the very monsters he had created. Maggie wondered how she would plan such a feat if it were just her. She needed to find Daryl and Carol, she needed to know that they were okay. The last time she had seen them, she and Glenn were rushing down the river while Carol and Daryl were on one side and the four raptors were on the other.

Maggie shuddered at the memory. They had been lucky that they were able to get out on the opposite side of the river and that it was too wide for the raptors to cross. However, their luck hadn't lasted long. It hadn't even been five minutes when they got out the water, they were attacked by another group of raptors. These ones had looked just as hungry as the last ones.

One had slashed at Glenn's chest, ripping through the vest and Maggie reacted quickly. She grabbed her boyfriend and flung themselves back into the river. This time, they stayed in the river for as long as they could. Maggie wasn't taking any chances like the last time. When she finally got out of the water, she made sure she had her rifle out. By that time, Glenn had been weak with blood loss and Maggie was near hysteria. She had no idea how to help him.

Luckily, she had found the cabin when she had. Maggie didn't want to think about what would have happened if she hadn't...

* * *

Full of breakfast, Carol and Daryl emerged from the cabin, well-rested and well-stocked with supplies and weapons. Daryl just hoped that they wouldn't have a reason to use up all the supplies before they made it to the main building. There was no way he was going to stay out in these damn woods for another three days. He'd go insane.

"I'm completely lost," Carol frowned and looked at the map in her hand.

Daryl snorted. "First of all, you have the map upside down." He righted it and smiled.

She looked up at him and beamed. "I did that on person just so I could see you smile. You've been have the same serious face since we left the cabin and thought you should lighten up." Her smile faltered. "Cuz I know if I don't do that, I'll start thinking about..."

Glenn and Maggie...

Daryl pulled her close with one arm and kissed her temple. "They'll be fine." The words had left his mouth several times since they had come across the bloody vest. He wished he could believe them. Truthfully, he had no idea what had happened to their friends.

Suddenly the sound of a roar echoed through the woods, it didn't sound very close, but it was too close for their comfort. Especially since they knew exactly what it was. It was the T-Rex.

"Why do you think it's doing that?" Carol asked, blue eyes wide as she looked up at Daryl.

"I don't know. But if the ground starts to shake, then we'll need to find somewhere to hide. Fast."

"Got it." Carol pressed closer to his side and kept an ear out for the loud, thunderous steps of the Tyrannosaurus , they should have kept their hearing out for another dinosaur. All around them, bushes rustled and in a second they were surrounded by four velociraptors.

* * *

"Don't move," Shane said from the side of his mouth as everyone nearly ran into his back when they saw the T-Rex. They all did as he suggested, though what they all wanted to do was get the hell away from the giant monster. But maybe, it would take its drink and just walk away, not seeing them.

"What do we do?" Sasha whispered fiercely to his right. In her hands, she held her rifle and looking ready to use it. Though, he didn't know how much damage that would do to something that big.

"Just wait here and hope for the best," he answered. Honestly, that was all they could do. If they snuck back into the woods, they would run the risk of catching the T-Rex's eye. However, if they just stood there and the thing saw them, then they were sitting ducks.

As if the T-Rex could hear them, it lifted and tilted its head. Everyone froze and held their breaths. Then, the worst happened. It turned it's head and looked directly at them.

"Fuck," Shane hissed.

The T-Rex turned it's whole body to face them and shook the ground. It opened its mouth wide and roared, a loud roar that shook the ground just as much as its steps had.

"Run!" Rick yelled and they took off.

* * *

"Shit," Daryl cursed and immediately pushed Carol behind him, though there was a raptor behind him, as well.

How had they been able to sneak up on them? Had they been following them the whole time?"

"Daryl, look!" Carol pointed over his shoulder to a raptor on the right. In its mouth was some kind of black material. When the raptor saw where she was pointing, it dropped the material to the ground. Carol gasped.

"It's a part of Glenn's vest!"

"Those bastards!" Daryl went to lift his bow, but the raptor closest to Carol snapped at her and she screamed. He quickly put it down, but didn't break eye contact with the raptor in front of him. This one looked familiar. It had squiggly green lines running down from its head...

It was the one who had lunged at Carol back at the enclosure. "Shit," he cursed, again and tried to fully block Carol from view. There was no bullet proof glass to protect them now.

"What are we going to do?" Carol asked, clutching his shirt in both fists.

"I don't know," Daryl replied honestly. To him, it looked like they were about to be lunch.

"I love you, Daryl," Carol whispered and pressed a kissed to his clothed shoulder.

"I...I love you, too." He snaked a hand around and grabbed one of hers. If he was really going to die right then, at least he would be with her in his final moments. Daryl closed his eyes and waited for that moment when he would feel sharp claws and teeth rip into him.

Nothing happened.

He looked up and saw that the raptor in front of him was tilting it's head, as if confused. When Daryl looked at it, it turned to the one that had been carrying the part of Glenn's vest and made a series of noises. The other raptor replied and picked up the vest. The two raptors behind them took off in the woods and after a few second, the one with the vest did too.

Carol and Daryl stood there in shock.

The remaining raptor looked at them and jerked its head. "Daryl," Carol whispered and stepped around him, eyes wide and seemingly no longer afraid. "I think she wants us to follow them."

Later, he would ask Carol how she knew that the raptor was a she, but for now, he would just be grateful that they weren't being killed. Yet. "O-Okay."


	21. Chapter Twenty-One

**Chapter Twenty-One**

They were insane. They had to be. It was the only explanation to why they were following four _velociraptors_ further into the woods. And the same raptor who had lunged at Carol the first time they had seen the dinosaurs was right in front of them. It looked back every few minutes to make sure they were still following. Daryl didn't know how long they had been running, but his sides burned and his bow was going to leave multiple bruises on his back from where it kept banging against him. Luckily, they had been able to eat, drink and get a good night of sleep. Otherwise, the run would have probably killed them.

Finally, they came to a clearing and the three raptors that had run on in front of them were waiting for them. The fourth raptor made noises to its buddies as if to apologize for taking so long.

"Well, we can't run forty fuckin' miles an hour," Daryl growled between deep breaths as he bent over.

"Right," Carol answered, mirroring his position.

The four raptors approached and on instinct, Daryl pushed Carol behind him. They all tilted their heads to the side as if to ask 'Why would you do that?'. Daryl couldn't believe he was acting as if they were talking to him. Maybe he was really going insane. Running from dinosaurs that wanted to eat you did that to a person, he supposed.

"I'm fine, Daryl." Carol stepped from behind him and stood at his side. "I think if they wanted to kill us, they would have by now."

"Unless they're playing some kind of sick game." He looked each one in the eye, letting them know that he wasn't fooled. "Blake created them, after all."

The raptor with the vest still clamped between his teeth, jerked its head and started to walk in the direction they had been running in earlier. This time, Carol and Daryl knew what that meant and they followed.

"Merle is never goin' to believe this when I tell him," he muttered.

"Neither is my mom."

"No one is goin' to believe us. They'll think we're crazy."

Carol gave him a small, reassuring smile. "At least we can be crazy together." She reached for his hand and intertwined their fingers.

Up head, through the thick brush and trees, Daryl spotted something made of wood. As they got closer, he saw what it was. "It's another cabin," he said in awe. "They led us to another shelter." Night wasn't upon them and wouldn't be for a few hours, but at least they now had some place to stay.

Just then, the front door swung open. Daryl went for his bow, but the raptors stayed put. "Get away!" A woman screeched and in her hands was a rifle. "Get the hell away from us!"

Though the woman's hair was sticking up at crazy angles and her eyes wild, Carol and Daryl recognized her immediately.

"Maggie."

* * *

Shane felt like he was in a damn horror film running from a chainsaw-wielding maniac. The image was almost made complete when Andrea, who had been running in front of him tripped and fell. Shane quickly grabbed her by the arms and hurled her back to her feet. Unfortunately, this allowed the T-Rex to gain some ground on them.

"Can we not be a typical blonde for one moment?" He growled and pulled Andrea along. Of course, it could have happened to any one of them. But it just so happened to her.

"Can you stop being a typical asshole for one moment?" Andrea snapped back and wrenched her arm free. They did all this while still running. They were catching up with the rest of the group, but the T-Rex was catching up with _them_.

From the looks of the rest of the group, they had no idea where they could run to. The woods were behind them, now, and the T-Rex would have just ploughed through the trees, anyway and it didn't look like it would be slowing down any time soon. Shane wondered if, once it was done feasting on him and Andrea, would it still go after the rest of the group. Would two people be able to satisfy their hunger?

Rick was leading the pack with Lori and Michonne hot on his heels. Shane and Andrea brought up the rear. When Shane looked up to try to spot Rick, he was shocked to see his friend there one minute and gone the next. It was as if the world had swallowed him up.

"What the hell?" Andrea practically shrieked, seeing the same thing. "Where did he go?" Her eyes were wild as she looked at him.

"Don't know." Shane watched as Lori and Michonne stopped running for a few seconds, and then they disappeared, too. The sound of the T-Rex's thunderous footsteps went to the background as Shane and Andrea watched each of their group members disappear into the ground.

Finally, when they reached the spot. They found that it was some kind of bunker. Shane narrowed his eyes, not remembering ever seeing it before when he had been driving around the area on his golf cart. However, if it weren't for Andrea, he wouldn't been able to see it either. She grabbed his hand and jumped, dragging him with, just as the T-Rex's jaw snapped in the area he had been standing in.

They landed in a heap about eight feet down and Michonne and Tyreese were pulling them through a doorway. Up above, the dinosaur roared its frustration.

Once Shane got his bearings, he looked around the bunker. It resembled a bomb shelter, completely encased in concrete. There were a few beds and chairs scattered throughout. In the corner was a tiny kitchen. Sasha and T-Dog were searching the cupboards, which seemed to be stocked.

"Blake must have planned for this," Rick's voice drew Shane's attention and he saw that his friend was lying in one of the beds, looking pale.

"He broke his arm when he fell," Lori answered the unspoken question.

"I'm not complaining, though," he chuckled and winced when it jarred the arm on his chest. "It got us this place. We all would have been dinosaur food." Shane gulped, remembering how close he had been to being eaten.

"So, what do we do now?" Shane asked.

The roar outside seemed to answer his question.

"We wait in here until the T-Rex is gone," Rick answered. "We'll rest up. Eat. And then, we should start heading to the main building. We have a reference point, now, since this is where you worked."

Shane nodded. "I can get us back."

"Good." Rick nodded as his eyes start to drift closed.

"Pain meds," Lori said. "Luckily, there were some here. In fact, there was a lot of first aid supplies."

"Like Rick said, Blake has been planning this," Shane spoke. "This is some type of sick game to him and we're the damn pieces."

* * *

Carol flung herself into her friend's arms, who received her gratefully and started to sob into Carol's hair. Daryl feeling a little awkward, stepped forward and placed a hand on Maggie's shoulder squeezing briefly before letting go. "I am so glad you're okay!" Carol cried, tears coursing down her own cheeks. "Daryl and I were so worried." She took a step back, looking looking Maggie over. "Oh God. Is Gl-?"

"He's okay. For now." Maggie wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. "He's inside resting."

"Can we see him?"

"Of course." Maggie grabbed Carol's hand and with Daryl behind them, they walked into the cabin.

"I'm pretty sure this is the one we found earlier," Daryl leaned forward and said to Carol.

"I think it is, too," she agreed.

Maggie let go of Carol's hand and walked to the room on the side. The door was open and Daryl and Carol went to stand in front of it. On the cot, laid a pale-looking Glenn. He was naked from the waist up, but most of his torso was wrapped in white bandages. His eyes opened when he heard Maggie walk in the room and they landed on Daryl and Carol.

He smiled weakly. "You guys are alive."

"Yeah." Carol walked into the room and knelt by his side. Daryl followed, but remained standing. "We were afraid that you and Maggie wouldn't be." She reached for his hand and squeezed.

"Almost didn't make it. One of the raptors got me good," he said indicating to the bandages. "A little harder and my guts may have come out."

"Don't say that," Maggie said sharply. It was clear that in the last few days, Maggie's emotional state had been worn thin. Carol didn't blame her, though. She would have been the same if Daryl had been the one laid up in bed.

"You wouldn't believe how we were able to find your ass," Daryl spoke.

"How?"

"We were led here," he started.

"By the raptors," Carol finished.

"What?" Glenn and Maggie gasped at the same time.

"And they didn't want to eat you?" Glenn's eyes were wide. "Before one of them slashed me, they were looking at Maggie and I like we were steak dinners!"

"These were the raptors Blake had in the enclosure. They've been fed regularly," Carol said.

"The ones that chased us into the river looked starved," Daryl said.

"So, Blake made more raptors but starved them," Maggie growled. "That man is sick."

The three of them agreed with Maggie. "But that doesn't explain why those other raptors led you here instead of killing you," Glenn spoke. "One of them wanted to get at Carol the first time it set its eyes on her."

"I don't know why they didn't kill us. I'm mighty grateful, but still..." Daryl looked over at Carol and shrugged. "Maybe because it knew us?"

"I don't know."

Glenn moved to sit up in the cot, but winced hard and flopped back down. Maggie was instantly at his side, almost pushing Carol out of the way in her haste. "Glenn, you can't be moving around so much." She ran a hand down his face before turning to her two friends.

"He needs medical help. I had nothing to stitch him up with and I only have so many of these bandages left." She quickly blinked back tears. "We need to get him out of here. I saved him from the raptor, but if infection sets in..."

"We'll get him out of here," Daryl vowed.

"But how?" Carol asked. "We can't carry him all the way back to the main building. He can barely move as it is."

Daryl thought for a moment. "One of us can go to the building, find one of the jeeps and come back here with it."

"You aren't going alone." Carol said firmly, knowing exactly who that 'one' person Daryl was thinking of. "I'll come with."

* * *

Milton hoped Eugene was able to do something on his end. Like send a fucking army to the island. Otherwise, he didn't know what else he could do. Calling 911 didn't seem like a good idea. They would probably think it was a prank call and hang up on him.

He pressed his back against the wall by the door of the telephone room and raised his eyes heavenward. "Please, let him send someone soon." He didn't know how much longer he could hide out here before Blake or Jenner caught him. He wasn't very good at being sneaky.

Now, it was time to get the hell back to his room and Milton never felt more afraid in his life.

* * *

Carol and Daryl ate something quick and rested a moment before they decided it was time to head to the main building. Daryl shouldered his bow and Carol exchanged her knife for Maggie's rifle.

"There's plenty of weapons I can use here," the other women said as she handed over the gun. "Including some grenades." Maggie looked as if she would take great pleasure in blowing up a velociraptor or two.

Before they stepped outside, Daryl stopped Carol with a hand on her arm. "Remember Blake saying that he couldn't see us on the cameras when we were out here?"

Carol nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, what do you want to bet that they're back at the main building watching all of us run for our lives."

"Sick bastards..."

"You got that right. We don't want them to see us coming, so let's stick to the woods before we get to the raptor enclosure. I don't know where the cameras are located from there, but we'll just have to keep a sharp eye out."

"Got it."

"Okay. Be careful."

"You, too." She went on her tiptoes and kissed him on the mouth quickly.

When they stepped outside, immediately the four raptors from earlier appeared. On instinct, they held up their weapons, but they didn't attack. The leader stepped forward and jerked its head, like the last time and indicated for Carol and Daryl to follow.

Carol shrugged. "They led us here last time. I say we trust them."

Daryl didn't know about trusting the raptors, but they had led them to Glenn and Maggie. Maybe they knew a shortcut to the main building. "All right," he finally said. "Let's go."

* * *

**I've been dying to write this since I saw the last Jurassic Park. They see Daryl as their Alpha (like Chris Pratt's character) and since Carol is Daryl's mate, they've accepted her, too! :)**

**Thanks for reading!**


	22. Chapter Twenty-Two

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

Just like they had done only a few minutes before, Daryl and Carol followed the velociraptors through the woods. Carol kept an eye on the raptors while Daryl looked up in the trees to see if he could spot any cameras. He had come up with nothing, but that didn't mean they weren't there. For all he knew, they would make it to the main building and Blake would be there with even more velociraptors.

They had been running for almost a half hour (the raptors had been gracious enough to give them a few breaks), when the four dinosaurs stopped. The two humans following them came to a stop as well and attempted to catch their breaths. Carol didn't think she would run or step on a treadmill ever again. She had done more running the past few days than she had her whole life.

"I think I'm set on cardio," she said aloud. "For the rest of my life." Daryl responded with a breathy chuckle of agreement and straightened when he heard one of the raptors approach. They hadn't eaten them, yet, but he still was going to keep a good eye on them. They were still wild animals.

It was the leader, the one with the green lines on its body, that stepped forward. Daryl didn't take his eyes off of its. "Yeah?" He asked, as if the thing would respond with words and not noises.

The raptor made a series of noises and jerked its head. Daryl and Carol looked up ahead and through the cover of trees, they could see small parts of a building. Getting closer, they saw the large doors that would lead them into the lobby of the main building. "They led us right to it," Carol breathed. "I knew they would."

Daryl had, too. He was going to turn and give a nod of thanks to the raptors, when one of them shoved him hard with its head. Another did the same with Carol. He whirled and was about to yell, when behind the four raptors another four emerged from the trees. These ones were skinny and had hunger burning in their eyes.

"I think they want us to run," Carol whispered.

The first skinny raptor lunged and the leader was quickly there, attacking it before it could reach Daryl and Carol. Daryl grabbed Carol's hands and they were off. He wished he could look behind him to see what was going on, but that would only slow them down.'

Daryl pushed hard on the doors and allowed just enough room for them to slip through before he closed them. Carol pressed her back against them and slid to the ground, breath coming out in fast pants. "They saved our lives," she said and looked up at him.

"I know," he said in disbelief. "And I hope none of 'em get killed because of it. Otherwise, there's another reason for me to end Phillip Blake." He held out a hand and helped Carol to her feet. "Speaking of him, we need to find out where he stores the keys for the jeeps and get back to Glenn and Maggie."

* * *

The underground bunker had grown stuffy with all the people inside, but no one wanted to venture outside. For all they knew, the T-Rex was lying in wait for them, ready to pounce at the first sight of a human.

"Someone needs to get out of here," Shane announced, the opposite of what everyone was thinking or wanting to do. "Someone needs to get back to the main building and see what the hell is going on. Maybe help has already arrived."

Everyone just stared at him as if he were crazy.

"I'd go," Rick said. "But with my arm, I know I wouldn't be of much help."

"And I need to stay back to take care of him," Lori added.

Shane stood. "I get it. Thanks, brother. I'll go, since it was my idea. I'll just need to stock up on some weapons." Though he didn't know what would be effective against a massive dinosaur. Were there any rocket launchers?

"I'll come with," Andrea said and stood.

"Me, too."

"And me."

Sasha and T-Dog stood, as well. Shane couldn't help but feel relieved. He had gone from a one man show, to having a group of four. The chances of survival were greater now. At least one of them could make it back to the main building intact. He hoped.

"Okay. Great. Gather what weapons and supplies we may need and we'll be off in a few minutes." Shane grabbed an empty pack from the supply closet and stuffed some first-aid supplies inside. He also grabbed more bullets for his gun and slung a rifle over his head. He felt like he was going to war.

"Hey, Sasha," Tyreese's deep voice carried through the bunker. "You want my hammer? Just in case you come across some nails that need to be hammered." He chuckled, along with a few others, but Shane could see the worry in Tyreese's eyes for his younger sister.

"No, thanks, bro. But I appreciate the offer." Sasha wrapped her arms around her large brother and squeezed. The affection they had for another clearly showed.

"All right. Are we ready to go?" Daylight was slowly slipping away and Shane didn't want to be caught after dark.

"Yeah," they all answered. '

The four of them opened the door to the bunker and walked out. Shane was in the lead. "I'll make sure the coast is clear," he said and quickly climbed the ladder that had been hidden when they all fell into the large hole. When he reached the top, he took a quick glance around. Off to the right, a few triceratops grazed and he figured, if they were out the T-Rex wasn't around.

He looked over the edge at the rest of his group. "Everything is clear. Come on."

* * *

"Whoa! Hey, Blake look at this!" Jenner exclaimed and pointed to a screen that was off to the far right. It was the camera that was in front of the main building. They hadn't expected to watch much on it.

"What?" Blake rolled his chair to Jenner and looked at the screen. "Son of a bitch!" He exclaimed when he saw what was going on. The raptors, _his raptors_ , were fighting one another. At least one was already on the ground. Dead.

"Why would they do that?" He asked, turning to Jenner. He felt the loss of the raptor like it had been family.

Jenner shrugged. "Defending territory, maybe? We did not assimilate the other raptors with the ones in the enclosure."

"Shit!" He slammed a fist down on the table. The dinosaurs were supposed to fight the humans, not each other. "Is there anything we can do? Do you think I could go out there and stop them?" He felt sure that they would listen to him. After all, he had practically raised them. They were his children.

"Not unless you want to get caught in the middle." It angered Blake that Jenner didn't seem as concerned as he was. "Sooner or later, one group will realize that they are outmatched and they'll retreat."

Blake placed his head in his hands and forced himself to look away from the fight on the screen. "I need a drink," he said, abruptly and stood. "Do you need anything?" He didn't wait for Jenner to answer before he walking out of the room.

* * *

Milton threw himself into the nearest room when he heard the rapid sound of footsteps coming closer. He willed his fast, panting breaths to slow down and prayed that whoever it was didn't come into the room he had just found refuge in, which looked to be a supply closet.

"Fuck! What the fuck is going on?" Blake's familiar voice was muffled through the door as he walked by. "I had everything fucking planned out. I didn't think they would turn on each other. Shit!" Milton waited for Jenner to reply, but didn't get one. Well... he had only heard one set of footsteps. Blake was clearly losing it.

He waited in that closet until he could no longer hear Blake's cursing or shoes. He opened the door and made a run for it, not wanting to take the chance of getting caught. He rounded the corner of the hallway and ran into someone's solid chest.

* * *

Carol nearly screamed when someone nearly plowed Daryl over as they crept down the hall. She knew it wasn't a dinosaur, but knew it could have been Blake, which may have been worse. She swallowed her scream and went for her knife, ready to defend Daryl like he defended her. However, when she saw who it was, she immediately put the weapon away.

"Milton!" She cried, though careful to keep her voice down. "You're okay!" Then, her eyes narrowed. "You're a part of this, aren't you? Why else would you still be here?" She took out her knife again and pushed Daryl aside to press the tip of the weapon to Milton's chest.

"N-No, I'm not!" Milton raised his hands and winced at the sharp point of the knife. "I swear! I only stayed behind because I had work to do. I did not know Blake intended to set the dinosaurs free."

Carol's narrowed eyed gaze looked him over once more before putting her knife back in its sheath. "All right. I believe you."

"Good," he breathed a sigh of relief. "Now, can we get out of the hallway before Blake comes back? He sounded angry when he walked by earlier and I'd rather not see what he'll do to us if he sees us here."

"I don't want to find out, either," Daryl said. "You got a place we can stay and talk. We have a few things to ask you."

"Yeah." Milton nodded. "Follow me."

A few minutes later, the three of them were safe in Milton's room. Daryl helped Milton put the bookcase in front of the door and Carol took a seat in one of the chairs, exhaustion clear on her face. Daryl wished they could rest for awhile longer, but Glenn needed them.

"One of our friends is hurt," Daryl started. "We need a vehicle to move him. Do you know where Blake keeps the keys for the jeeps?"

"I have a set." He went to the desk and produced a set of keys. "But where will you take him? You bring him here, Blake will definitely know where you are."

"He needs medical attention," Carol spoke. "More than what we can give him. If he doesn't get it soon, he'll die. Please, Milton. We need your help."

"And I hope help is coming soon," Milton sighed and sank into another chair. "I managed to get a call to Dr. Porter and told him of our situation. I have no idea what he can do to help. I'm hoping he sends a whole army or something."

"An army would be nice," Daryl agreed. "A plane off this damn island would be even nicer." Carol nodded her head in agreement to that. "But we'll take what we can get, as long as we stay the fuck away from the dinosaurs that want to eat us."

"Do you know why Blake was so angry?" Carol asked. "You think he'd be happy, since he's being entertained now."

"No, I don't."

"Do you think it has somethin' to do with the raptors?" Daryl asked and looked at Carol.

"What's going on with the velociraptors?" Milton asked and looked curiously between the two.

"You won't believe us," Carol answered. "But the ones that were in the enclosure...well, they led us to Glenn and they led us here." Milton's eyes widened in shock.

"And that's not all," Daryl added. "When we arrived here, four of the feral raptors, the ones Blake must have kept hidden, went to attack us and the other raptors protected us. They were fighting one another when we ran into the building."

"Then, that is why Blake is so angry. The raptors are like his children. If they are fighting and hurting each other, he's not going to like it."

"Oh well," Daryl shrugged. "He shouldn't have set the beasts on us in the first place."

"And you said that some of them led you here?" Milton asked.

Carol nodded. "Yes, and they led us to Glenn, as well. We were just as shocked as you."

"They respect you, then," Milton said and tapped his chin. "That day, when one of them lunged at you, Carol and Daryl stepped in front of you, he didn't take his eyes off the raptor, did he?"

"No, he didn't." She looked to Daryl, who agreed.

"You didn't back down, even though it could have killed you if it were free. That's why they didn't kill you."

Daryl took a seat on Milton's desk. "Thank God I did that, then. Or we would have been raptor food."

"Hmm. Not even Blake was able to bond with them like that," Milton mumbled, lost in his own little world for a moment. "I wish I had more time to study this behavior, but we are on a tight schedule, aren't we? Come. I'll take you to a jeep."


	23. Twenty-Three

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

"I will wait here for you to return with Glenn," Milton said as he stood in the doorway that led out to back of the building, dangerously close to the trees. "Before I became a geneticist, I wanted to become a medical doctor. It took me only a few years to realize it wasn't for me, but I still remember what I learned and may be of some use to your friend."

Carol took the keys and nodded. "We would be forever grateful for you, Milton." She gave him a quick hug and kiss on the cheek.

"It's the least I can do. You all shouldn't have had to go through of all this. I-I should have known Blake was up to something, but I was too blinded by the extraordinary work I was allowed to be apart of."

"This isn't your fault, man." Daryl clapped the man on his shoulder. "If you hadn't been so dedicated to your work, you wouldn't be here now and we'd be shit out of luck."

Milton smiled a little. "I guess you're right. Now, go before velociraptor sees me and wants to make me his dinner." Truthfully, he was more worried about his friends becoming dinner than himself. They would probably take one look at his skinny body and realize it wasn't worth the energy to chew on him.

"I don't know how long we'll be, Milton. But at the first sign of Blake, you get out of here and hide. There's no telling what that monster would do to you." She gave him another hug, which he returned this time, before she and Daryl jogged to the jeep. Carol slid into the driver's seat, Daryl in the passenger seat and soon they were off. Milton watched them go, praying they would return soon and safely.

He looked up to the sky. "I really hope you have sent help, Eugene. Because we _really_ need it." And with that, he walked into the building and closed the door quietly behind him.

* * *

"Blake, it seems that we may have some casualties," Jenner said when Blake returned to the room with two shot glasses and a full bottle of whiskey. "The group of eight that we saw running from the T-Rex a while ago seems to be down to only four." He pointed to the screen with four running figures.

"Who?" His voice sounded tired as he took his seat.

"It looks like...Shane, Andrea, T-Dog and Michonne. None of my top choices, I'm afraid."

"Have you seen Carol and Daryl recently?" If he didn't know better, it was off those two knew where the cameras were and were somehow avoiding them.

"No, actually." Jenner examined each of the screens and didn't see a sign of the couple.

"Hmm. They must be hiding out somewhere. That's smart...but boring," he sighed and filled one of the glasses with whisky and threw it back in one gulp. He slid the other glass to Jenner, who shook his head.

"What are the damages from the raptor fight?" He winced just saying the words. Blake didn't think he could bear to see what had become of his precious babies. Jenner turned on a screen that been black and pushed away from the table so that Blake could see.

It was worse than he thought.

Four raptor bodies laid there. Four of his babies were dead, killed by their own kind. That only left him nine.

"Fuck," he hissed and turned the screen back off. He couldn't bear to keep looking at them any longer. "I'll go out later and bury them." He would give them a proper burial and a funeral his majestic creatures deserved.

"Let us hope that the ones that did that are hostile towards you, Blake. Or you might join them," Jenner warned.

"They love me. I raised them." He settled back in his chair and filled his glass once more.

* * *

Carol remembered the way to the raptor enclosure from the few times they had been driven there. Once they reached their destination, she parked the jeep as close as she could get to the woods. There was no way she could drive through the trees, meaning that they would have to be very careful when bringing Glenn out.

"I'll carry him on my own," Daryl said as they jogged through the woods. (God, more running.). "The guy probably weighs about a hundred and thirty pounds and I won't be carrying him far. Maggie will want to stick close, so it'll be up to you to keep an eye out."

"Got it."

"By my figure, there's about five more raptors out there who'll want to eat us." On their way from the main building, they had passed the four raptor bodies. Taking a quick look, they saw that none of the ones that had helped them were among the dead.

"Five is still five too many. But I got more than my knife, now. I can take them." Carol was glad that she would be given a chance to protect Daryl and her friends. Though, she hoped they would be able to get Glenn to the jeep without any trouble.

"I agree with you." Up ahead, the cabin came into view. Daryl didn't bother knocking and burst through the door. Luckily, Maggie had been expecting them and didn't shoot Daryl the moment he walked through the door.

"Is he ready?" Carol asked. "And if not, do you need help?"

"He's ready." Maggie rubbed her eyes, looking worried. "Please be careful with him, Daryl. He's in so much pain and-" She stopped and choked back a sob. Carol embraced her friend tightly.

"I'll be careful. Promise." He gave her a curt nod and walked into the room. Glenn was sitting up in the bed, still looking incredible pale. "All right," Daryl said. "I'm goin' to pick you up gentle, okay? Try not to move around much."

"Don't think I could if I tried." Maggie came in and threw the covers off him. Daryl went to the bed and with one arm under his back and the other under his thighs, he picked Glenn up and found that he was surprisingly light.

"You ready to carry me over the threshold, Daryl?" Glenn laughed weakly.

"Shut it," Daryl growled.

"Nah. You're waiting to do that with Carol." Maggie hid a smile behind her hand at her boyfriend's words and Daryl felt his face grow hot. Luckily, Carol was at the front door, keeping a lookout and hadn't heard a word that had been said.

He knew things had moved fast between them, but Daryl knew that he loved Carol. Marriage would be far off for them, but he could see himself settling down with her and possibly...having children.

"He obviously wants to do it, Maggie. He's thinking about wedding plans, now," Glenn chuckled and this time Maggie did hide her amusement, as well.

"What's so funny?" Carol looked back at them, pouting a little. "I feel left out."

Daryl sent a glare Glenn's way, but that didn't stop him from talking. "Oh, Daryl and I were just discussing when our wedding date was," he grinned and winked at Daryl. "Since he's carrying me like his bride and all."

"And what a lovely bride you would make," Carol teased and when she made eye contact with Daryl, her cheeks blossomed in a slight blush and she went back to keeping watch at the door. Daryl wondered if her mind had gone to having a wedding with...him as the groom.

Turning to Glenn once more, Daryl growled low so only his friend could hear, "If you had said what I thought you were going to. I would have killed you."

"If a velociraptor couldn't kill me, I doubt you would be able to!" Glenn snarked back.

"Hmm, do you want to see me try?"

"Guys, you ready?" Maggie and Carol were both at the door now. When they had noticed that the men were behind them, ready to go, they turned around and saw that they seemed to be arguing, which looked funny with Glenn still in Daryl's arms.

"Should I be jealous, Daryl Dixon?" Carol teased. "You've never held me that gently."

Daryl's face grew red once more. "Are we ready to go or not? He's getting pretty heavy and I would hate to drop him as we're walking." He gave Glenn a pointed look and then, the four of them left the safety of the cabin. It had felt nice to tease one another as they had even though they were in the middle of danger.

"Carol, you got this?" Daryl asked as they stepped outside. Maggie stayed close to him.

"Yeah, I do." She held the rifle in both hands and scanned the trees. Daryl knew that she wouldn't let anything happen to them. He trusted her with his life.

"All right. Glenn, things are going to get a little bumpy," he looked over at Maggie. "Are you ready?"

"More than ready," the other woman answered and then, they were off.

* * *

Shane felt safer running in the open, at least they would be able to spot the T-Rex before it spotted them. Hopefully, the large man-eater would see the other, much bigger and meatier dinosaurs around them and chase them instead. However, he knew that when they found the road back to the main building, they would be surrounded by trees and forest, and who knew what was lurking in there. They hadn't seen the raptors since the first day they had been let lose and Shane hoped to keep it that way.

When he saw that Andrea, T-Dog and Sasha were slowing down, he did as well. It wouldn't be good if they depleted their energy and something were to attack them. Though, they were kind of in a rush, he knew that Rick and the rest of the group was safe and would be safe while they were gone.

Just then, a gunshot echoed around them. The four of them froze. Andrea looked up at Shane, eyes wide. "Was that from-" Two more gunshots interrupted her.

"No. It came from in front of us," he answered. "Daryl, Carol, Glenn and Maggie are still out there. It could have been them." Another two gunshots sounded.

"Hopefully, they got whatever they were shooting at," T-Dog spoke up. No one wanted to think of the alternative if they hadn't.

* * *

Daryl step carefully over trees roots and fallen branches as they walked through the woods back to the trees. Even then, Glenn winced with every other step. His friend tried to hide them, though, but soon the pain had become too great to hold in. They had already stopped a few times and one of those times, Maggie had checked the bandaging around Glenn's torso. There were a few spots of blood staining the pristine white, which was nothing to worry about. Yet.

Up ahead, but not too far, Carol kept a keen eye and ear on her surroundings. She was responsible for their well-being and she would not let them down.

Few minutes later, a rustling in the trees to her rights had Carol snapping around just as a velociraptor lunged at her. She managed to sidestep into before it plowed her over, but on its way past it sliced at her arm.

"Carol!" Daryl cried, looking frantically around for a place to set Glenn down.

Ignoring the pain and Daryl, she brought up the rifle and shot at the dinosaur. She hit it in the chest. Though, not a fatal wound, but a painful one. Which made it angrier. It's eyes were wild and it went for Carol again. This time, she shot off two shots quickly, not aiming.

She didn't even know she had closed her eyes until she peeked them open to see the body of the raptor only a few feet away. Turning to Daryl, she grinned triumphantly, while he looked relieved and then, froze. "Maggie! Behind you!"

The other woman didn't need to be told twice before she was turning around with her own rifle and fired two shots quickly.

Another raptor laid dead.

* * *

"No!" Blake screamed, witnessing the death of two more of his raptors. It just so happened the the four of them had stepped into an area with a camera and Blake wished they hadn't.

Jenner sat next to Blake, eyes wide. He had not thought that the raptors could be taken down so easily. They were creatures breed to kill and were dangerously smart. He didn't know what to say to the man beside him. He figured that anything would set him off, so he decided to just keep his mouth shut.

"This isn't how it's supposed to be!" Blake raged and would have swiped the table of monitors if they weren't already fastened to the table. Instead, he picked up his shot glass and hurled it at the wall as hard as he could. The glass shattered and sprayed everywhere, but he didn't care. He slammed his hands on the table and took in deep breaths. Jenner slid his chair a few feet away.

"They'll pay," he hissed.

"There are several more raptors out there, Blake, and it looks like Glenn is injured. They won't be so lucky, again." The words were meant to comfort his boss, but Blake ignored him and sat back in his chair, eyes glued on the monitors. Daryl and company were no longer in sight.

"I may have wanted them to win this little game, but now I want to see them ended," Blake spoke once more, eyes glittering from the monitor screens.

It was if Jenner wasn't in the room.

* * *

Carol's chest heaved with adrenaline and when the jeep came into view, she nearly cried. She rushed to the back door and opened it so that Daryl could place Glenn inside. Maggie climbed in the other side and laid her boyfriend's head on her lap. Carol smiled at them before she closed the door.

When she turned her knees buckled and she fell to the ground. Daryl was there in seconds. All the strength seemed to have left her and she felt dangerously close to passing out. Daryl cupped her face and willed Carol to look at him. "Are you okay?" His eyes were round with worry.

"Yeah. I just don't think I can stand anymore."

"Let me carry you." He shifted to do just that but Carol placed a hand to his chest to stop him.

"No, you just carried Glenn through the woods. You need to rest. I'll be fine. Just give me a few minutes." Honestly, Carol didn't know if that would be enough time to regain some energy back. It was if that flight through the woods had taken everything.

"No. I got you." Without another word, she was lifted effortlessly in her strong arms and carried to the passenger's side. He placed her in the seat just as gently as he did Glenn. "You did good," he said before leaning to kiss her cheek and shut the door.

Maggie leaned forward in her seat and placed a hand on Carol's shoulder. "Are you okay? I saw you collapse."

"I'm fine. Just all the adrenaline left me and I had no energy left."

"And I'm pretty sure Daryl carried you more gently than he did me," Glenn piped up from the back, voice weak. Carol turned and saw that his face was pinched in pain. The trip had not been easy on him and Daryl had carried him as carefully as he could.

"Of course he did," Maggie said and looked down at her boyfriend. "Carol's his girl." Carol felt her face heat up.

"You should have carried me, Maggie." The women laughed at that just as Daryl opened the driver's side and climbed in. He looked at Carol and then, Maggie in the rearview mirror, confused.

"What did I miss? Why are you both laughing?"

"We're not laughing at you, if that's what you're wondering," Glenn spoke.

"That just tells me you were," Daryl grumbled and started the jeep. Carol leaned over and kissed his cheek quickly.

"It was all good things, though."

He squeezed her thigh gently. "It better have been." Then, they were off.


	24. Chapter Twenty-Four

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

Blake couldn't watch the monitors for another moment. It infuriated him to think that something he had enjoyed so much now saddened him. Though this game of his pitted dinosaurs against humans to see the victor, he had never thought that any of the humans would be able to kill one. Let alone two and they had been women. It disgusted him. If only he hadn't told everyone in the labs to go on a vacation, then he would be able to make more raptors and no one would stand a chance against the beasts.

That thought made him smile, if only for a second.

Side-stepping the shattered glass by the door, Blake walked into the corridor, deciding he would go on a short walk in the building in hopes of calming down. Jenner promised he would let Blake know if anything exciting happened, but had been told not to say a word if another of his precious babies were killed. There was no telling what he would do if he were to find out.

It was nearing lunch time and the only thing in his stomach was the two glasses of whiskey he had drunk earlier. He needed something with more sustenance. "I should have kept the cooks," he muttered, craving a gourmet meal. Now, he would have to settle with whatever he was able to cook up on his own.

Somewhere, a noise had Blake's ear perking up.

Jenner was still in the monitor room and wouldn't dare leave without notifying him, first. Was it possible that there was someone else in the building? A stowaway or a refugee?

"Hmm." Lunch could wait.

* * *

Milton never left his post by the door and at the sound of an approaching vehicle, he threw the door open. Daryl braked the jeep as close as possible and hoped out of the vehicle and went to the back, where Milton supposed Glenn was lying down. Maggie climbed from the car and assisted a shaky looking Carol to the door.

"You okay?" He asked, worried. She didn't seem to be injured, but he wanted to make sure.

"Yeah. Just a little shook up. It'll wear off soon. I hope." Carol leaned against the wall to his left and Maggie went back out to be there when Daryl carried Glenn in.

"Where are we goin' to put him?" Daryl huffed coming through the door.

"Follow me," Milton said and immediately sprung into action. "There's an office just a little ways from here. I'd like to set him up in one of the rooms, but didn't want to risk running into Blake or Jenner."

"Good idea," Daryl agreed. "Lead the way."

And he did. Maggie and Carol followed close by and kept an eye out for anyone else. Using a key, Milton unlocked a door and they all filed inside. "Put him there," he instructed, pointing to the large desk pushed to the wall. "It's not going to be very comfortable, but it's the best I can do." Daryl gingerly laid Glenn down and Maggie grabbed a pillow from one of the comfy chairs in the room.

"You did your best, Milton." Carol came up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's all we can ask for."

"Thank you." His face flushed a little and peeked at Carol, shyly. From across the room, Daryl cleared his throat loudly, causing the skittish man to jump.

"Are you goin' to help Glenn or not?" Daryl narrowed his eyes on Milton and when Milton rushed off to get his medical bag, he focused his attention on Carol who only rolled her eyes.

He walked over to stand by Carol as Milton got to work on Glenn with Maggie close by, helping. "He's got a crush on you, now," he mumbled.

"And if he does, it's harmless," she said and nudged him in the side. "Besides, I'm pretty sure I'm taken already."

"Damn right, you are!" He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close, almost possessively.

From where they stood, they watched as Milton undid the wrapping Maggie had put on Glenn while in the cabin. He winced when he saw the extension of the injuries. There were three long, jagged marks across his chest. "These are going to need stitches," Milton said and adjusted his glasses. "I have some pain medication, but I don't know how well they will work."

"Don't you have any tranquilizers, you know, for the T-Rex?" Glenn asked, weakly. "One or two of those should be good." Carol could tell that her friend was only half joking. He was in so much pain and her heart ached for him.

"Those would actually be very useful right now," Maggie said. "But not for you, Glenn." She looked sternly at her boyfriend.

"I would gladly tell you where we keep them so that you may use them," Milton looked up from cleaning Glenn's wounds gingerly. "But they're locked up and Blake has the only key to them."

"Figures," Daryl muttered.

"It seems that he had all his bases covered," Carol spoke. "Except the stocked cabins. I guess he wanted us to have at least a fighting chance."

"How very nice of him."

Milton threw away the bloodied tissues into the trash by the desk and looked at Daryl and Carol, well mostly at Carol. "May I ask a favor of one of you?"

"Of course," Carol smiled.

"Glenn has lost a lot of blood and I don't have an IV to restore any of it. What I do have is water, but not with me. There's several bottles in the kitchen. Can you get him some? It will help."

"Okay, I'm on it." Carol retrieved the rifle she had laid against the wall next to the door and slung it over her shoulder.

"I'm comin' too." Daryl went for his crossbow.

"Great. Careful, though. Blake and Jenner are in one of the rooms near the kitchens watching the monitors. Most of the rooms on the way there are unlocked and if you hear anyone approaching, hide."

"Got it." Carol and Daryl nodded.

"In the meantime, I will start stitching up your friend. Though, he will have to dry swallow the pain pills."

"I can do that," Glenn piped up. "Just give them to me already."

Daryl and Carol slid from the room just as Glenn took his pain killers. The couple hoped that it would help with the pain some. The stitches Milton would have to give were not going to be a pleasant experience and they hoped Maggie would be able to keep her boyfriend quiet throughout the process. Screams and yells would definitely send Blake running straight to them.

"All right, let me lead," Daryl said and lifted his bow. Carol knew he was trying to be chivalrous, but she could take care of herself, too. After all, their dinosaur kill count was the same, now.

"Fine, and I'll keep an eye on our backs." That way she wouldn't feel completely useless. Feeling bold and silly, she slid her eyes down to Daryl's backside. "And I think I have the better view, too." Daryl turned to see what she meant, saw where her eyes were focused and blushed a deep red.

"Stop," he said.

"What? It's not my fault that your ass fills out those pants nicely." She gave him one more appreciative look and lifted her gaze.

"Didn't take you for an ass girl."

"Hmm. I didn't think I was...until I saw yours."

* * *

Shane and company finally made it to the woods. Though, they wouldn't tell themselves they were safe until they were behind a door and within four walls. "It took at least ten minutes to get here every morning," Shane spoke. "I have no idea how long it will take to walk the distance."

"Definitely not ten minutes!" T-Dog said out of breath. "I don't think I'll be able to run. Ever."

"Same," Sasha agreed. "And I used to be a firefighter. I should be used to stuff like this, but I have never run so much in my life."

Slightly up ahead, Andrea's head was tilted up. "Do you guys hear that?" She looked at them. T-Dog ducked his head and covered it with his arms. Everyone was giving him odd looks.

"What?" He said sheepishly, straightening. "Every time someone tells me to listen to something, it's that damn T-Rex chasing us!"

"And you thought ducking and covering was going to save you?" Sasha rolled her eyes at her friend. T-Dog glared at her and opened his mouth to say something in return, but Shane interrupted.

"Wait, I hear it, too. It's not the T-Rex." The rest of the group stopped and listened.

"It's a helicopter!" Sasha exclaimed.

"We're saved!" T-Dog cried.

"We don't know that," Andrea cautioned. "It could be Blake escaping or something," she said with disgust. "I wish I had never flirted with that man." She shuddered.

"Andrea's right, she should have never flirted with that man." Shane grinned at the woman, who glared back. Getting serious again, he said, "Andrea's also right about it maybe being Blake. We won't know until we get back to the main building. If it's Blake escaping, that's one less thing we have to worry about. If not, then we may have our way off this place."

* * *

Daryl's ears perked up when he heard something from up ahead. Silently, he reached for Carol and made her stop. "I hear something," he whispered. Carol nodded, understanding and reached for the knob of the closest door to find it locked. Cursing softly, she went to another one and found that it was unlocked with relief.

The footsteps grew closer...and quicker. Someone had heard them and if it was Blake, he would have a key and no doubt search all the rooms. Daryl thought fast.

Carol opened the door and turned to pull Daryl, but he pushed her inside as gently as possible and closed the door quietly. "Don't," he whispered fiercely against the wood, hoping that it would prevent her from opening it.

If it was Blake, he would be on them soon and there was no use hiding. This way, he would be caught and Carol would allowed to roam free. Somehow, Daryl would convince Blake that he was the only one there.

Walking briskly away from the door, he hoped that Blake wouldn't suspect that he had just closed a door and that he was getting away.

"Hey!" Daryl's shoulders tensed at the familiar voice. It was a voice he hoped he never had to hear it again. He turned around to see Phillip Blake standing at the end of the hall. Briefly, he thought maybe he could make a run for it, but in the other man's hand was a shiny pistol.

"What are you doing here, Daryl?" The question was laced with menace and his eyes were crazed. "You're supposed to be outside, playing the game."

More than anything, Daryl wanted to put a bolt through the insane man's eyes, but knew the moment he lifted his bow, Blake would shoot. The gunshot would probably send Carol flying out of the room and there was no telling what would happen to her. Back before the dinosaurs had been sent free, Blake had seemed to have some kind of...fascination with Carol.

"Well, I'm waiting..."

"One of my friends has been hurt," he said, not saying what he really wanted to. "They need medical attention. I was hoping I could find something here that would help."

"And what friend would this be?" He asked, taking a few steps closer. "Is it Maggie? Glenn? Carol?" Daryl willed himself to not look at the door Carol was hiding behind when Blake said her name. He couldn't give her away.

"Glenn," he answered. "One of your raptors got him."

"Oh?" Blake smiled slowly. "It did? And I can't believe I missed it. Was it bloody?"

"You're sick!" He spat.

Blake only shrugged. "I'm bored, that's what I am. Now, come along. Maybe more of your friends will come looking for you when you don't show back up. Then, I can tie you all up and watch as my raptors pick you off one by one." He was close enough, now, that the gun was only inches from Daryl's face.

"I'm surprised your little Carol isn't with you." Together, they started walking down the hall, in the opposite direction he and Carol had been going on. "You two were attached to the hip from the moment you stepped off the plane. Makes me wonder if you were attached in other ways."

"No?" He said incredulously when Daryl didn't say anything. "Pity. She was pretty. Maybe I'll save her for myself." It was clear he was trying to get a rise out of Daryl, but he kept his cool. Blake just smiled at the lack of response and walked behind Daryl to prod him with the gun. "Come on, let's go."

* * *

Carol was going to kill Daryl. She knew exactly what he was up to the moment he pushed her in the room and shut the door. He planned on Blake catching him and not her. Well, once she brought water back to Milton and Glenn, her ass would be saving him. That was for sure.


	25. Chapter Twenty-Five

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

"It's gone."

The helicopter had seemed to vanish. It had even been there in the first place. Shane, Sasha, T-Dog and Andrea stopped following the nose and sagged in exhaustion and defeat.

"I think it was just our hopeful imaginations," Sasha mumbled. "Like when someone is stuck in the desert and they see water."

Shane looked over his group and wondered, not for the first time, what Rick would do. Rick was a natural born leader and when they had been on the force together, every seemed to look to him. At first, it had made Shane jealous of his friend,but soon realized that Rick had a good heart and leading people was what he did best.

"Come on, let's keep going toward the main building," he spoke. Three sets of tired eyes looked up at him and he tried hard to look determined and strong. They were looking up to him, after all. "Once we get there, we can rest and eat."

"Or we can kill Blake!" Andrea raised a fist.

"Or call for help," T-Dog added.

"Or, we can do all three," Sasha concluded with a smile. Some light returned to their eyes and they started to follow Shane once more through the trees.

* * *

"Jenner, look what I found!" Blake walked back into the monitor room, giddy and with a scowling Daryl Dixon. His hands were empty and Blake held up the crossbow in his other hand while the gun still remained in the other.

"Interesting," Jenner said and looked him over. "He doesn't look worse for the wear."

"I knew he wouldn't. I found him sneaking around the halls. Apparently, Glenn had a run-in with one of the raptors." He pouted. "And we missed it."

"Shame." Jenner shook his head. "Do you want me to get some rope to tie him up or are we going to let him go back on the island?"

"Get some rope." He pushed Daryl into one of the chairs and trained the gun at his chest. The crossbow was set on the table behind them, out of reach of Daryl. "You see, I have a feeling he's not the only one here like he claims."

"Oh? Do you think Carol is around here somewhere?"

"That's exactly what I think." He kept his eyes trained on Daryl to catch any reaction from the man, but was dissatisfied when he got none. "They've been glued together from the start. There's no way he would have come here, to a place that is safe, without her."

"Very true." Jenner nodded.

"I don't think he realizes that not only do we have cameras in the woods and around the island, but in here, as well. Of course, we didn't think to look at them since the action is all outside." With one hand, he typed something on a nearby keyboard and on several screens, empty hallways appeared and there was even one in the spacious kitchen.

"When you get back with the rope, it's time for a new game, Jenner. We're going to play 'Where's Carol?'"

* * *

Carol didn't emerge from the room until she was sure that Blake and Daryl were gone. She was still seething, but there wasn't much she could do at that point. First, she needed to get the water for Glenn and then, she was going for Blake and Jenner. If they hurt Daryl...

It took Carol a little bit to finally figure out where she was. She had yet to master the hallways of the large building before they had all been sent out on the island, but she knew that she was near the kitchen, which was a relief. Getting back to Milton, Maggie and Glenn would be a little difficult, but she knew she'd be able to do it. Hopefully.

* * *

Daryl felt sick as he watched the monitors. All of them. One had the T-Rex hunting and killing some poor dinosaur (at least it wasn't a human) and the others showed Carol quickly making her way to the kitchen. Blake was more interested in Carol and when he saw where her destination was, he grinned and stood to face Daryl, who was tied to his chair.

"Found her!" He exclaimed and grabbed Daryl's crossbow. "Now, it's time to collect my prize."

"No!" Daryl struggled hard on his bonds, but it was no use. He was trapped. He just hoped that Carol was able to get away.

* * *

Finally, Carol opened the door that led to the kitchen. Stainless steel gleamed in the dim light and Carol's widened at how large it was. On one side was the freezer that held the meat and other things and a few feet away was the pantry. There had been two doors leading to it, one was in the kitchen and the other close to the dining room.

Carol had never seen a place so big, but she supposed if it was meant to feed a whole theme park of people, then it would have to be large.

Now, she didn't need anything from the pantry or freezer. She needed to retrieve the water from the refrigerator, which was the farthest thing away from her. _Of course._ With a sigh, she began walking, but a noise outside had her stopping. It sounded as if someone was running.

Carol leapt over one of the counters and landed hard on the other side. Her gun skittered underneath the counter on the other side of her. Before she could reach for it, the doors were thrown open. Carol pressed herself into the stainless steel cabinets behind her and listened as the footsteps approached.

They stopped near where she was and Carol looked up to see the tip of a bolt. Then, more was shown. A crossbow. Daryl! She was about to jump up and hug him when the person behind the bow spoke. "Carol dear, I know you're in here." Definitely not Daryl's voice. "You're boyfriend and I watched it on the cameras. Come out, now and I won't hurt you."

The offer was not tempting.

As quietly as she could, she began to crawl away, hoping to find a cabinet already open and big enough to squeeze in. However, she didn't doubt that Blake would search every nook and cranny for her. She wouldn't give up, though. Her friends and Daryl needed her.

"There's no place you can go, Carol," Blake continued to speak. "You're trapped and I'm going to have fun with you when I find you." For every step Blake took on the linoleum, Carol crawled that many on her hands and knees. She needed to round the corner before Blake did and saw her.

She rounded the corner, just as Blake did and slammed her back against a wall of utensils. One clattered loudly to the floor and she winced.

"Ah ha!"

Carol took off scrambling on her hands and feet, making sure to keep her head down so that he couldn't fire a bolt on her. Up ahead, she spotted a perfect hiding spot or at least a spot that could keep her safe for a little while. Hearing Blake's running steps behind her, she squeezed into the tiny spot.

"There you are!" A bolt fired right at her...and crashed into only a reflection. "What?"

When he got close enough, Carol kicked his legs from under him and he landed hard on the ground. She wrestled for the bow, but he had a tight grip on it and wouldn't let go. Luckily, it wasn't loaded. He made a grab for one of her legs, but she danced out of the way and kicked him hard in the knee. She didn't wait around to see how he reacted. Instead, she flung open the nearest door, which was the door to the freezer. She'd be safe in there, but also trapped.

Turning, she went to leave and was nearly run over by Blake as he rushed her. Screaming, she moved to slam the door on him, she slid on the icy floor and fell hard. The breath was knocked from her. But there was another thump and Blake was on the ground by her. Quickly, she got to her feet first and rushed out of the freezer. The next door led to the pantry and she nearly cried when she saw a case of water bottles on one of the shelves. She grabbed a few and ran out the other door, knowing that Blake wasn't that far behind.

* * *

Daryl watched the whole thing on a TV screen. He clenched and unclenched his bound hands and almost exclaimed aloud when Carol and Blake were fighting over his bow. Jenner had dozed off in the corner, glad that his boss was occupied so that he could sleep. Any bit of noise could wake him. He would have seen where Carol had been hiding in the kitchen and warned Blake. Even now, he would see her running through the various corridors and radio his boss. So, Daryl kept quiet and watched with anticipation as Carol navigated the place and tried hard to avoid Blake.

* * *

"What was that?" T-Dog stopped mid-step.

"Something's rustling," Andrea answered. "Maybe it's an animal." Of course, she knew it could be other things. Things that were much bigger and more dangerous.

"It may be just some bir-"

Out from the trees behind them emerged the T-Rex, as if it had been waiting for that moment. It saw them and roared, long and loud. It was almost as if it were calling his friends because from across the way, four velociraptors materialized from the trees, as well.

Shane looked at his group, at his friends. "Run!"

Behind them, the T-Rex roared again and the ground shook as it began to chase them.

* * *

Jenner jolted awake and Daryl quickly averted his eyes away from the screen Carol had just appeared on. "Did you hear that?" He asked.

"Uh, no." The room had been silent except for Jenner's soft snores.

"Oh. Okay." Jenner shrugged and closed his eyes once more.

* * *

Carol, fortunately was able to lose Blake in the corridors and find her way back to Glenn, Maggie and Milton. She knocked softly on the door, reassured Maggie that it was her and slid through the opening Maggie held open for her.

On the table, Glenn's chest was bandaged and he looked pale. Though, he didn't seem to be in any pain. The medication must have worked. Carol handed the bottles to Milton, who quickly opened one for Glenn. "Where's Daryl?" He asked.

As the adrenaline slowly left her. Carol sagged into a chair and placed her head in her hands. "Blake caught him. He tried to make him believe that it was only him in the building, but he caught me in the kitchen. I was able to lose him, though and once I catch my breath, I'm going to find Daryl."

"Where did your gun go?" Maggie asked.

"Lost it in the kitchen and Blake has Daryl's crossbow."

"Here." Maggie handed Carol her rifle, but she pushed it back in her friend's hands.

"What about you? How would you defend yourself if Blake comes in here?"

Maggie glanced over her shoulder at Milton. "Well, Milton has a pair of scissors that he used to cut the stitches." Milton held up the pair she was talking about and Carol made a face.

"Those won't kill anyone." She stood and went for the door. But Maggie handed her the rifle, again.

"Take it. I mean it, Carol. Blake isn't getting through these doors and if he does, I'll be able to take care of him." Carol finally took the weapon and gave Maggie a ferocious hug.

"Hopefully, I'll be back soon."

"Hopefully. Be careful out there."

"I'll try." Carol opened the door and slid out into the corridor, rifle at the ready. She wouldn't hesitate to shoot Blake if she had to.


	26. Chapter Twenty-Six

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

Carol was no longer on any of the monitors and Daryl breathed an inaudible sigh of relief. That meant she had made it back to Milton and was safe. For now. However, Blake was still stalking the hallways with Daryl's crossbow loaded and ready to use. Daryl scowled hard as he watched the man with his bow. If he used it to hurt Carol, then he didn't know what he would do.

There was a flash of something at the corner of his eye and he turned his head just in time to see Carol slipping around a corner, a rifle in hand. "No," he whispered. She should have stayed with Milton, Maggie and Glenn. She was safe there. Daryl knew that Carol was looking for him and he cursed softly. Why had he thought it was a good idea to get caught? _Well, it's better than having Carol get caught, too. There's no tellin' what Blake's sick as would have done to her._

Daryl kept his eyes peeled for Carol, but there was something else that caught his attention. Something that had his blood freezing in his veins. It was Shane, Andrea, T-Dog and Sasha. They were being chased by the T-Rex and four velociraptors. Daryl couldn't tell if it was the velociraptors that had helped them or the ones that had tried to kill them. _Fuck_. It looked like they were heading straight for the building. Would the T-Rex be able to smash inside through the walls? He hoped now, especially with being tied up and Carol out there by herself.

He watched in silent horror, hoping that he wouldn't witness one of them getting eaten. He had been lucky so far not to have to witness that. Though, he wouldn't mind if he saw Blake or Jenner get munched on.

Just then, the door behind him swung open and Daryl wheeled around in his chair, expecting to see Blake, but shocked to see Carol. Her chest was heaving, as if she ran the whole way there and while her eyes were mostly on Daryl, her rifle was trained on Jenner, who was slowly starting to waken at the noise.

"Make any sudden movements and I'll shoot," her voice was hard and cold as it was directed at Jenner. The man smartly did as he was told and stayed completely still in his chair.

With one finger still on the finger, Carol moved to Daryl to start untying his bonds. "We'll use these to type him up," she said after both hands were free. She took a step back and allowed Daryl room to untie his ankles.

A shadow fell across the door. "Don't move, Carol dear and I won't shoot your boyfriend." Carol froze and Daryl stood behind her.

A loud roar echoed around them. The T-Rex was close. Instead of looking fearful that the large animal was so near, Blake smiled. A smile that was surely the smile of serial killers. "Ah, one of my babies is here. Jenner, take Miss Carol's rifle and follow me. Keep an eye on Daryl." Once the gun was taken from Carol, Blake reached out and grabbed her arm. Daryl went to lunge at him, but Jenner stabbed him hard in the chest with the rifle.

"None of that, now," the geneticist said with a slow smile. "I would hate to kill you in front of your girlfriend."

"I wonder if she's hungry," Blake dragged Carol along with him. "Though, I would hate feeding you to him, Carol...before I got to know you better." He looked right at Daryl as he said this and winked. However, Daryl knew he only wanted a reaction and only glared at the man. If they were to be killed, he wouldn't give Blake any more satisfactions.

The four of them walked to down the hallways as the footsteps from the T-Rex grew closer. Daryl knew this was it. There was no way they'd be able to get out of this alive. Milton, Maggie and Glenn would have to tell their families what had happened. Daryl shuddered, imagining how it would feel to be eaten, to have those massive teeth sink into his fle-

Blake threw open a set of double doors that led into the main lobby just as Shane, Andrea, T-Dog and Sasha burst through the doors from outside. However, they had no time to react to seeing Carol and Daryl being held hostage before the massive dinosaur crashed through the doors. One went flying off it's hinges.

Andrea screamed and Shane tried to shoot at it, but the bullets didn't seem to have any effect. Blake watched it all with a smug grin.

Then, the four velociraptors ran inside. Instead of going after the humans, they leapt onto the T-Rex and started to attack it. Blake's jaw fell open, along with Jenner's. Carol used that opportunity to elbow Blake hard in the stomach and when he was bent over, kicked him hard in the groin. Next, she went to Jenner, who hadn't noticed her approach, and slugged him hard in the face. So hard that the rifle in his hand went clattering to the floor.

Carol went for it and Daryl went for Carol. Soon, she found herself pressed to his body with the rifle between them.

"No! This shouldn't be happening!" Blake shouted. "They shouldn't be attacking the T-Rex, they should be attacking all of _you_!" He gripped his hair in two hands. "This isn't how the game works!" The T-Rex stopped fighting the raptors for a moment and had eyes only on Blake, who had walked into the middle of the room. The only one who didn't notice was Blake himself.

"Uh, Blake?" Jenner called. "I think you ne-"

" _Shut up_!" He practically screamed. "These are my babies. I created them. They will listen to me!" His eyes were wild and crazed. "If I want them to eat you all, they will ea-" Just then, he was swallowed up by the T-Rex in one bit. Every winced when they heard the crunch of his bones.

"Oh my God,"Jenner whispered and started to back up, but one of the raptors noticed. The one with green lines down its back. It leapt from the T-Rex's back and went right from him. Carol looked away right when the raptor swiped at Jenner's throat.

Luckily, they all recovered quickly. The raptors went back on the T-Rex and the large animal started to back up, no match for the four raptors constantly attacking it. Shane, Andrea, Sasha and T-Dog joined Carol and Daryl. Together, they ran into the rest of the building.

"Come on, we need to find Milton and the other two," Daryl said to Carol. "We need to get them out of here, especially with the T-Rex on the loose." Both he and Carol knew they didn't need to worry about the raptors since they seemed to be on their side, but the ones that weren't. The ones that were half-starved and crazed could be coming any minute.

"Milton is still here?" Shane had overheard. "Isn't he one of them?" The word them was said with disgust, understandably so. However, Blake and Jenner got exactly what they deserved. This whole time they were waiting for the dinosaurs to kill someone and turned out, they had been the first to fall victims to them...and hopefully the last.

"No, he's not like Blake or Jenner," Carol answered. "He had no idea what was going on and only stayed behind to finish up some work. Right now, he's with Glenn and Maggie."

"Glenn's alive?" Sasha asked. "We saw Maggie in the woods by herself a few days ago. We thought Glenn was dead."

"Yeah, he's alive. Badly injured, but alive," Daryl said. "That's why we need to get to him and get him out of here."

They all followed Daryl and Carol through the hallways with each of them looking over their shoulders to make sure that no dinosaur was following them. Finally, Daryl stopped at a door and looked to Carol. "Is this one it?" He asked. Most of the doors looked the same.

"Yeah, I think so." She knocked three times on the door. "It's Carol and Daryl."

They stood there for a few minutes before the door opened wide to reveal Maggie. She smiled when she saw Carol and Daryl, then her eyes widened in shock when she saw the four others behind them.

"Blake and Jenner are dead. They were killed by the dinosaurs."

"What?" Someone protested from inside the room and they looked to see Glenn sitting up in bed, looking less pale. "I wanted to see that happen!"

Daryl shrugged. "I would have taped it for you, man. But..."

"We thought we heard the T-Rex," Milton spoke. "But knew we would be safer in here, so we stayed. How i-" He was interrupted by the sound of a helicopter.

"So we did hear that earlier!" T-Dog exclaimed, mouth opened wide in excitement.

"That's probably Eugene," Milton cried. "He finally answered my cry for help! Come on, everyone. There's a helicopter pad on top of the building. I know how to get us up there."

* * *

They reached the top of the building almost twenty minutes later. They would have reached it sooner, but with Glenn still injured and hurting they couldn't hurry as much as they would have liked. This time, Glenn found himself in T-Dog's arms and kept shooting looks over the larger man's shoulder at Daryl.

"You jealous?" He asked as they started to ascend the stairs. Daryl just rolled his eyes and gave his friend the finger. Carol giggled at the two. Since Jenner and Blake were dead and it looked like they would soon be off the island, the tension lifted in the group.

All of them nearly cried when they saw the helicopter sitting on the pad. Eugene hopped from it and ran over to them. "Hello, everyone," he greeted, as if it was just a normal day. "I suspect you all would like to get off this island."

"Yes!" Sasha cried.

"Unfortunately, I do not have enough room for all of you in the helicopter, but we have a little base on the shore of the island south of here. We can take six of you now and come back for the other three in about fifteen minutes."

"There's four more of us," Shane spoke. "They're holed up in a bunker. I can show you where when you get back."

"Very well. Whoever is coming, let's go."

Glenn, Maggie, Carol, Daryl, Sasha and Andrea moved to follow the man. When they climbed into the helicopter, Carol climbed into Daryl's lap. At her puzzled look, she said, "This way we can fit one more in here, instead of having to take three trips."

Eugene approved and motioned for Milton to join them. Shane and T-Dog volunteered to stay behind. Each had a rifle, just in case a raptor (a starved, killer raptor) made its way up to them.

Finally, the helicopter started to lift in the air. "Look!" Andrea cried, pointing at something outside. The seven of them craned their necks to see that the T-Rex had left the building and was retreating to the trees. It looked up at them flying in the air and roared, long and loud.

"Good riddance!" Sasha shouted, knowing that the noise from the helicopter would drown out her words. She didn't care.

The four raptors filed out next, unhurt. When they looked up at the helicopter in the air, Daryl waved. He felt silly, but they had saved his and Carol's life. Carol saw what he was doing and waved, too.

And for a moment, they could have sworn the leader, the one with the squiggly green lines down its back and the one that had lunged at Carol in its enclosure, waved back.


	27. Chapter Twenty-Seven

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

They were all flown to the shore of the island where they found several army vehicles and men with guns pointing at the woods. Their fire power was much heavier than what they had on the island and no velociraptor would be able to take on a tank.

Daryl gripped Carol's hand hard when they stepped from the helicopter and were immediately taken to a small medical tent that was set up. Glenn had been taken first and along with Maggie, disappeared inside another tent where more experienced doctors could take a look at his injury.

All of them were examined and out of the tent, just as the helicopter came with the last load of people. Rick's arm was looked at, though he wouldn't be able to have it put into a cast until they were off the island. No one cared, though. As long as they were safe.

Afterwards, they all gathered on the sandy beach with the exception of Glenn and Maggie. When the doctors saw the young man's injuries, he had them flown off the island immediately. Milton had done his best and probably saved the man's life, but he needed professional help.

Eugene stood before them, hands clasped behind his back and mullet blowing in the wind off the sea. "I am sorry that your stay at Jurassic Park was not what you all hoped for. None of us, besides Dr. Jenner, knew about his plans to set the dinosaurs free on you all. I am relieved that none of you lost your life and if Philip Blake were still alive, he would be staying the rest of his life in jail."

It was the first that some of them had heard of Blake's death and no one seemed bothered by it. "He got what he deserved," Andrea mumbled from the back of the group where she stood next to Tyreese and Sasha. Murmurs of agreement echoed throughout the rest of the group.

If Eugene heard, he ignored them. "I, also know, that you all were promised quite a bit of money for this job. Am I correct?"

As they had all been running for their lives over the past few days, money had been the last thing on their minds. Now, that it was brought up, they all started speaking at once. Though, Daryl and Carol kept quiet, Daryl's mind was still on the money. He was going to use it to help Merle from trouble. What was he going to do now that he wasn't going to get anything? What would happen to Merle.

However, he didn't have to think about it for long. "This is not my place nor do I know if this will happen, but Blake has a sizeable estate. Investigations have found out that he has no relatives and no will. It is quite possible, that if everything is sold and accounts are cleaned out, the money will be split among the twelve of you. It may not be all that you were promised, but it will be something."

Daryl felt himself deflate a little in relief. He may not get enough to cover all of Merle's debt, but at least he would be able to pay off some. Gareth was a hard man who wasn't afraid to go through certain lengths to get back what was owed him. Merle was tough and could probably take on anyone who crossed his path, but Gareth also wasn't afraid to do something underhanded.

"Now, I'm sure you all would like to get off this island, so if you would follow me."

Surprisingly, no one took off running as Eugene led them to a boat that was just off the shore.

* * *

_Home._

Carol didn't know how much she missed her home and her mother until she walked through the door. Cassandra was there, waiting to greet her daughter with open arms and red-rimmed eyes. Luckily, news of Jurassic Park had not made it to the news channels until after they were all off the island. Carol had been able to call her mother, to assure that everything was okay.

"Thank goodness you're okay!" Her mom cried for the hundredth time in the past few days and squeezed Carol tight to her body. Carol had not had this much affection from her mother in years and didn't realize how much she missed it until now.

"I'm glad I'm okay too, mom," she said, though her words were muffled by her mother's hair.

Her mom stepped back and started ushering her to the kitchen. "Come on. Let's get some food in you." Carol grimaced, knowing that her mother was not the best of cooks.

She must have seen the look on her daughter's face and instead of being offended, she laughed. "Don't worry. I ordered Chinese. Your favorite!" Carol sighed in relief and gave her mom one more hug before taking a seat in front of the takeout.

* * *

"If it had been me on that island, I would have killed that son of a bitch!" Merle fumed when Daryl finally made it home. After interviews and questioning of the group, what Blake and Jenner had planned came to light. "And I was fuckin' right, wasn't I? That job was too good to be true!"

Daryl rolled his eyes and walked his aching body to his bedroom and the bed he had been missing since he left for the island. His stomach rumbled, but it had been a hectic few days and all he wanted to do was sleep. "Listen, Merle. I'll tell you all about, but let me get a few hours of sleep." He interrupted whatever rant Merle was going on.

"Oh. Okay." Merle stopped and nodded. "Yeah. We'll talk later."

Daryl was momentarily surprised at how easy his brother let him off, but he guessed that having to deal with dinosaurs that wanted to eat you for a week gave him a pretty good excuse.

Closing the door behind him, Daryl flopped down on his bed and buried his head under his pillow. Instead of sleep, however, his thoughts went to Carol. They had gone their separate ways that morning and Daryl feared that they may have gone them for good. She was home now and didn't need anyone to protect her, anymore. (Though, he knew she was more than capable of taking care of herself.).

Three hours later, Daryl was up from his nap and had told Merle everything. Everything except Carol. He knew his older brother would give him shit about it, Truthfully, he was afraid that after he told Merle about Carol, he would never be able to meet her. Sure, they had said they loved each other and that they would remain together after they got off the island. But what if it was just the moment talking? What if her words were only because they were going through that ordeal together. Of course, he didn't think Carol would do something like that to him, but being home with her mom and her old life may have changed her mind about him.

"Fuck, man. You're telling me that those damn velociraptors _helped_ you?" Merle's eyes were wide in disbelief.

"Well, some of them. The other ones wanted to kill us."

"Why do you think they did?"

Daryl paused. He wasn't sure about that, either. "I don't know. Maybe it was because I worked with them or, worked near them, I guess."

"Hm. Was there any way you somehow asserted yourself? You know, like letting them know that you weren't afraid of them or somethin'."

"That's just it! I was afraid of them. Except..." Except when he jumped in front of Carol and never took his eyes off the leader of the pack. Had that been the moment they had decided to defer to him? Had that been the moment he asserted himself?

"Except, what?" Merle was looking at him suspiciously.

"Uh, except that I jumped in front of one of my coworkers when one of them lunged at her during our tour of the place."

"Weren't they behind glass doors? And a _her_ , hmm?" Merle was more interested in the fact that it was a woman he had jumped in front of. _Shit._ "So, this 'her', does she have a name?"

"Carol," he answered reluctantly. "We worked together at the raptor enclosure." That was all he was going to say about that, dammit. Merle didn't need to know more, anyways. He needed to mind his own damn business.

"And did you and Carol get to know one another?" His eyebrows waggled. "If you know what I mean."

"No!" Daryl snapped angrily.

"Touchy, I see." Merle settled into his seat on the couch. "Can't wait to tell my buddies about my brother, the raptor tamer."

"Speaking of _buddies_ ," Daryl started. "Heard from Gareth?" His brother's face paled a little.

"Yeah, he came by while you were gone." That wasn't good. Gareth never made personal visit to those that owed him. Merle must have been deeper than he originally thought.

"Told me I got two weeks to pay off most of the debt or I'll be sorry."

Hopefully, in two weeks time, Daryl would start seeing that money he was due. Otherwise, he didn't know what else he could do for Merle. If only he hadn't gotten his ass in this mess to begin with.

* * *

Five days. It had been five days since she had last seen Daryl and Carol missed him like crazy. She enjoyed spending time with her mom and enjoyed the fact that she didn't talk about Carol's dating life even more. But now that she had been home for almost a week, she was eager to go out and see Daryl. Carol knew he lived close, since they had gone to school together, but she didn't know exactly where.

"Mom?" She called to her mom, who was upstairs in the bathroom taking a hot bath. "Do we have a phone book?" Carol knew that using a phone book was unheard of nowadays, but it was the only way she could locate Daryl since she didn't know his address or phone number. _What kind of girlfriend am I?_ They should have exchanged numbers before they parted, but things had been such a whirlwind.

"Did you say a phone book?" Cassandra poked her head out of the door, her hair wrapped in a white towel. Her eyebrows furrowed in thought. "I think we have one...somewhere. "Maybe under the coffee table?" That was where she kept all of her old magazines.

"Okay, thanks." Carol rushed to the living room, hoping to find the large book she was seeking. If not, she would just ask around. Someone had to know the Dixons, right?

"Aha!" Carol crowed and held up the book, which had been on the very bottom of all the magazines. She opened it to the D's and looked for Dixon. There was a Merle Dixon registered and she knew that was Daryl's brother. So she quickly grabbed a piece of paper and jotted down the address and number.

"Should I call him or should I just show up at his house?" Carol wondered aloud and stared at the piece of paper. If she showed up at his house, then she would be able to tell from his face if he wanted her there or not. But what if he didn't want her there? What if everything that had happened at Jurassic Park soured their relationship? What if he didn't want to even look at her because it would remind him of what went on those few days?

 _Stop worrying so much!_ She scolded herself. Daryl isn't like that. He'll be happy to see you. At least she hoped so.

She rushed up to her room to change into something nice and to put on a bit of makeup. Though, Daryl had seen her at her worst, she wanted to look her best now. "Mom, I'm going out for a bit. I'll be back in a few hours!" She yelled as she rushed past the bathroom door on her way down the stairs.

She popped her head out the door once more. "Are you visiting a boy?" But the front door slammed before she could get her answer.

* * *

Carol sat in her car in Daryl's driveway and wrung her hands. It was small, rundown place, but she didn't care. The front window's blinds were closed, so they couldn't see her sitting in the car. _What if Daryl opens the door and doesn't want to see me?_ She worried. He was too good of a man to just tell her to go away. She read people well, though, and if there was even a slight look on Daryl's face that told her that he didn't want her there, she'd leave.

Sucking in a deep breath, Carol climbed out of the car and went to knock on the door. She tried to ignore the shakiness in her hand as she rapped on the wood.

"Someone's at the door!" A voice she had never heard before called from right behind the door, the person couldn't be more than five feet away.

"And you're right fuckin' there!" Daryl. His voice was further, but it was coming closer. "Jesus, Merle. You're a lazy motherfucker." The door swung open, then and Carol was greeted with the person she had missed the most the past five days.

"Carol," he breathed and then slammed the door.

Behind him.

He was close, now. So close that here chests were brushing. Carol hadn't expected him to step outside so quick and close the door so fast. "Carol," he said her name again and scooped her up in his arms. "I've mi-"

"Daryl? What the hell? Who was it?" Merle's voice came closer, but before he could open the door and see the pair, Daryl grabbed her hand took off toward the woods in the back of his house.

"I thought you said you were never going to run again in your life," Carol giggled as they ran past trees and bushes.

"I think you would rather meet another velociraptor than my brother," he said and they finally slowed down when they reached a creek.

"Oh, he can't be that bad."

"He can and I rather not talk about him, anymore." He reached for her once more and pulled her close. "I've missed you," he said. "i was an idiot not to get your number or address."

"Thank goodness for phone books," she replied. "Otherwise, I don't know how I would have found you."

"I would have looked all over Georgia for you." That was the most romantic thing anyone had said to Carol and she couldn't stop herself from throwing her arms around Daryl's neck to kiss him.

Daryl lifted up her legs until her thighs wrapped around his waist and he gently pressed her back against one of the trees. Despite the slight dig of bark in her back, Carol continued to kiss him and loved the feel of his body pressed to hers. Daryl moved on to kiss a line down her throat.

"Are we still on for our date tonight?" She asked. "It's five days too late, though." She remembered Daryl planning for them to go out the day they returned home from Jurassic Park. At the time, it hadn't been a date, just an outing with a friend. A lot had changed those two weeks on the island.

"If you still want to," he said.

"I wouldn't have come out here if I didn't."

Daryl smiled. "All right. Just let me...uh, shower and change." During those five days, he hadn't done much besides lie around, only because he could. No dinosaur was chasing him. But he had regretfully ignored personal hygiene. Luckily, Carol hadn't recoiled from him.

"Okay. We'll I'm ready. So whenever you're done, we'll go."

"All right." They started walking back to his house and then, he froze. "Fuck. That means you'll have to wait with...Merle. Unless you don't mind waiting in your car or somethin'."

"I'll wait inside. I'm sure I can handle Merle." Daryl gave her a doubtful look, but she didn't change her mind. If she planned on being with Daryl, then she needed to get to know his brother. Even if he was an asshole.

* * *

"So, you're Carol, huh?"

"I am."

Merle was sitting in the middle of the ratty couch looking over at Carol, who was sitting in the only armchair. When Daryl had walked in the house with Carol not far behind, Merle had turned off the TV and devoted his full attention to the woman Daryl had brought home.

"Knew there was somethin' Daryl wasn't tellin' me when he mentioned you." Merle smiled over at her. "You and Daryl worked with them velociraptors, right?"

"We did," she answered. All the while, she kept a straight face and posture upright. If Merle wanted to pick at her, she wouldn't let him get a stronghold.

"So, when y'all were runnin' from them, did you think you were goin' to die?"

"Yes."

"Did you and Daryl fuck, thinkin' you were goin' to die soon?" The man had a straight face, too, but there was amusement dancing in his eyes. He wanted some kind of reaction from Carol, but she wasn't going to give him one.

"We did not. Kissed, yes. Not because we were going to die, but because your brother is a sweet man and handsome, too." Her eyes roamed over Merle, taking in his dirty and stained clothes, his socks that had more holes than not and the dark shadow of stubble on his cheeks and chin. "Which I can see does not run in the family."

Instead of getting angry, Merle's smile only grew wider. "I can see why Daryl likes you, sweetheart. Sexy _and_ sassy. If you ever get tired of him, you can-"

"I can always tell you to go fuck yourself," Carol said sweetly and placed her hands in her lap.

"And you got a mouth!" Merle slapped his leg, getting more and more amused with this woman.

The door to the bathroom opened and Daryl, freshly showered stepped through it. Carol got to her feet, but wasn't done with Merle. "And only Daryl will know what kind of mouth I really have." She winked and walked to the door.

Daryl stood in the middle of the room and looked between the two. Merle didn't look angry and Carol didn't look disgusted, so leaving them alone hadn't been so bad. "Are you ready, Daryl?" Carol asked, hand on the doorknob. "Should probably hurry before Merle invites himself along. I think he's got it in his head that I would leave you for him."

"I was just goin' to give you another option, darlin'."

"No thanks," she quipped and looked to Daryl. "Ready?"

"Uh, yeah." Quickly, he slipped on his boots, laced them up and followed Carol out the door. He was looking forward to knowing what had gone on while he had been in the shower. From the look of it, Carol had been right. She had been able to take care of herself when it came to Merle.

* * *

**Only one more chapter left! :(**


	28. Chapter Twenty-Eight

**Chapter Twenty-Eight**

At first, they didn't know where to go. They weren't dressed for something fancy (they would have felt uncomfortable if they had been, anyway) and Daryl didn't want to take her to the dumps he and Merle frequented when there was no meat in the freezer.

"How about a burger?" She asked, behind the wheel. "There's a place in the next town over that supposedly has the best burgers in the county and I've always wanted to try it. My mom never wanted to go and I didn't want to go by myself."

"Sounds perfect," he agreed, relieved. Since the restaurant was in another town, maybe people wouldn't look at him strangely or laugh behind their hands at Carol for being seen with a Dixon. Not that she would have cared, though. Carol didn't care what other people thought of her, but Daryl didn't want to see people treat the woman he loved like that. Especially if it was because of him.

"Great!"

When they reached the restaurant, there were a few cars in the parking lot and when they stepped out of Carol's car, the smell of cooking food hit their noises. "I didn't think I was that hungry. Until now." Carol looked over at Daryl, who had absently rubbed his stomach. The past few days with Merle had not been fulfilling in the food department. Potato chips and beer had been their staples while Daryl tried to save the little money he had. Now, he would be willingly spending it.

"Two please," Carol said to a blonde haired woman standing by the cash register, her name tag read Lizzie. Lizzie gave them both a smile (that didn't appear fake, especially when it landed on Daryl) and led them to a table in the back of the restaurant.

"There," she said, placing their menus in front of them. "You can have a little privacy." She straightened. "Miranda, will be your server. I hope you enjoy your date." Lizzie winked at Carol and left the table.

Daryl opened his mouth to speak when a Hispanic woman came up to the table. Her hair was up in some elaborate hairstyle with various clips and colors in it. "Hi," she greeted. "I'm Miranda. What would you two like to drink? Maybe a milkshake to share?"

Carol laughed. "No, thank you. I'll just have a Coke."

Miranda turned to Daryl. "Uh, I'll have the same."

"All right. I'll be right back with those." And she walked away from the table and went to Lizzie, who was leaning against the counter, waiting for more customers. She leaned close and whispered something into her ear.

"I know they are!" Could be heard from where they sat. "Just like me and Gordo." Miranda swatted at her friend's arm and walked into the kitchen to get their drinks.

"I think she was saying how cute we are," Carol told Daryl with a smile. "I have to agree."

"Never been described as cute before," Daryl muttered. "But at least they ain't sayin' anything shitty about us."

"And why would they?"

Daryl gave her a look. "Because of who I am. There's a reason why we never ran into each other in public, despite living in the same town. Merle and I don't go out much. People don't like the Dixons."

"Well, I like the Dixons. At least one of them, anyway." Carol reached over and squeezed his hand. When she moved to put it back in her lap, Daryl reached for it again and they didn't let go until Miranda came back with their drinks.

She saw their hands and smiled. "Are you sure you don't want that milkshake?" She winked.

* * *

Two burgers and fries and one milkshake later, Daryl and Carol were laughing softly with one another. Surprisingly, there was no talk of Jurassic Park (which Daryl had feared would be the only thing they had in common) and instead, they talked about anything and everything. From school to their families. If it was possible, Daryl felt himself falling more for Carol every minute.

"Uh, do you want to get out of here?" Daryl asked. They had been at the diner for almost two hours.

"Sure."

Daryl signaled for the check and Miranda placed it on the table. "The milkshake is on the house and we hope to see you two again." She scurried over to where Lizzie was at the counter and two giggled.

Despite being watched for most of the meal by the two, Daryl didn't care. They weren't doing it to mean. They were doing it because they thought he and Carol being together were...cute. Even just thinking that felt weird.

Daryl paid the bill (despite Carol's protests) and Carol left a sizable tip. As they stood to leave, a young man with dark, curly hair and blue eyes walked into the diner. He went straight to Lizzie and wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek. Lizzie looked up to see Carol watching and smiling and blushed.

"Have a good day, you two," she waved as the couple left the diner.

"Who was that?" The newcomer asked.

"Just our competition in the cute factor, Gordo."

* * *

"Now, where to?" Carol asked as she slid behind the steering wheel of her car. She didn't want the day to end and hoped Daryl thought of something to do, even though there wasn't much to do in their little town.

"I don't know," he said.

"Hm, movie at my house?" Carol suggested.

"Does that mean I have to meet your mom?"

"Uh...yes," she said uncertainly.

"Okay."

"What?" Carol exclaimed. "You're actually okay with meeting my mom, even though I've told you exactly how she is?"

"Yeah." He shrugged. "You met Merle. She can't be any worse than him. Plus, if your mom sees you with me, then she'll get off your back about Ed."

"True. Okay, let's go."

* * *

Cassandra Spencer _loved_ Daryl from the moment he walked inside the house after Carol. It was clear just be the way the two interacted that they cared for one another very much. Carol had told he some of what had gone on during her terrible stay at Jurassic Park and the man sitting next to her daughter on the couch was one of the reasons why Carol was still alive.

It also made her happy that Carol was finally with someone. She had been afraid that Carol would be alone for the rest of her life.

"Honey," she called to the couple on the couch. "Do you want me to make you two some popcorn?"

Carol looked at Daryl, then turned to her mom. "Sure, mom. Thanks."

* * *

When the credits rolled after the movie, the sun was no longer up and her mom had retired to her room. Thankfully, she hadn't stayed to watch them watch the movie. Carol was proud of her for giving her some privacy.

"Uh, do you want to go home?"

Daryl smirked and slid his arm from her around her shoulders to stretch. "Tryin' to get rid of me already?"

Carol knew he was only teasing. "Mayybbee."

"Hmph." Daryl stood. "I can tell when I'm not wanted anymore."

Carol stood and wrapped her arms around his neck. "That's where you're wrong, Mr. Dixon. You are very much _wanted_." Carol had no idea where _that_ came from, but she wasn't going to take the words back. Especially since they made Daryl blush a deep red.

"Carol," her mom yelled down the stairs surprising them apart. "Don't forget to shut the lights off when you get to bed."

"I won't." Carol had a sinking suspicion that the interruption had been planned. "Come on," she said and grabbed Daryl's hand. "Let's get you home before you turn into a pumpkin."

"What?" He asked confused.

Carol smiled. "That settles it. The next movie we watch is _Cinderella_."

**One Week Later**

Daryl walked out the mailbox, like he did every day though they didn't get much in the way of mail. However, this time was different. There was an envelope with his name on it and when he ripped it open, he was surprised to find a check inside along with a note.

_I know this is not what was promised, Mr. Dixon, but we hope that it is enough to help you get past the events of Jurassic Park._

_Dr. Eugene Porter_

"Sixty thousand dollars!" He exclaimed when he saw the amount. At the most, he had been expecting a couple grand, if anything. This would help Merle square off his debt and leave some left over for Daryl.

He practically ran into his house and shoved the check towards Merle. "You ain't goin' to believe this," he said when his older took it. Daryl watched as Merle's eyes shot open wide.

"This'll pay off Gareth!"

"I know."

Just then, the phone rang and Daryl knew who it had to be. He answered with a hey and got a scream in return. "I take it your check came in the mail today, too."

"Yes!" Carol cried. "And it's enough to get my own place and have a good amount in savings. So, what do you say?"

"What do I say to what?"

"Want to move in with me? I mean, I have to find a place, first. Most-likely an apartment and I know we haven't known each other long, but I really l-" Daryl cut off her ramble.

"Sure. I'd love to."

"Really?" She asked in disbelief.

"Yeah." It was time that he got out on his own. Merle had gotten better since Daryl had gotten back from Jurassic Park, but it was time he got out of this house. Especially if Merle found himself in trouble again. This time, he would have to be the one to dig himself out.

"Great! I haven't told my mom, yet, that I plan on leaving, but I wasn't planning on moving very far. Unless you want to. Then, we totally can. I was also thinking that we could rent an apartment or something to start...unless you want a house." She was rambling on again.

"Carol," he stopped her flow of words. "This is somethin' we should talk about in person. Okay?"

"Oh, yeah. Right. Sorry."

"Don't be sorry. Plus, it gives me an excuse to see you."

**SIx Months Later**

"I can't believe you two are getting married!"

Glenn reached over and grabbed his girlfriend- no, his _fiancee's_ \- hand and smiled. "I think it's about time," he said. "We've been together for a while."

Together, all four friends were sitting in Daryl and Carol's small living room in the house they were renting on the edge of town. It was close to the woods and a ten minute drive from Carol's mother. They couldn't be happier.

"Carol, I want you to be my maid of honor," Maggie reached for Carol's hands and squeezed. "We've gone through so much and you're one of my best friends."

"Of course I'll do it!" Carol beamed.

"And Daryl, I want you to be my best man," Glenn said.

"I guess." Daryl shrugged. Carol nudged him in the side and he smiled at Glenn. "Of course I'll do it!" He said, mimicking his girlfriend, which earned him a glare.

"Awesome! The wedding won't be until next year, but I can use all the help I can get planning it. For the colors, I was thinking..."

Three hours later, Carol and Daryl were saying goodbye to their friends as they drove off. Carol leaned into Daryl's side. "I'm really happy for them," she sighed wistfully.

"Me, too. I'm kinda pissed, though."

Carol looked up at him in shock. "Why?"

At that moment, Daryl took a step away from her and went down on one knee. A black box was in his hand and a gleaming diamond ring sat in the middle. "Because now we have to wait until after their wedding to have ours."

Carol had tears in her eyes. "But I haven't even said yes, yet, Daryl Dixon!"

He smirked. "Were you going to give me any other answer."

"Hmmm..." She tapped her chin, playing with him.

"Carol..."

"Of course I'll marry you! I mean, you killed a velociraptor for me. If that's not true love, then I don't know what is."

Daryl stood and wrapped his arms around Carol. "You killed one for me, too."

She grinned. "Like I said, if that's not true love, then I don't know what is."

**The End**

* * *

**If anyone can guess what show the three from the diner are from, I will probably love you forever! ;) And I apologize in advance for letting my inner dork show through. I've recently become reacquainted with this show and it hasn't aired in 13 years!**

**Thanks for all you who have read this little story of mine. It's been such fun to write and I'm kind of sad that its over now. :(**


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